Nightmare of Reality
by sparkywriter
Summary: When the door opens and Steve finds his mother on the other side, he quickly learns that isn't the only surprise the elder McGarrett has.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer - still don't own Hawaii Five-0. Still just toying with their lives for a while. I googled Mrs. McGarrett's name and the only thing I found was one thing that said Doris. But I didn't find anything to necessarily back that up. I'm gonna go with it, even though I'm not 100% sure.

Spoiler - "Ua Hala", Season 2 Finale

* * *

His heart was racing as he stared at the door before him. Racing much faster than he knew was good for his body. Joe had brought him here, to a tiny village in Japan, to meet the elusive Shelburne. Names, faces from his past sped through his mind, but nothing could have prepared him for the face he saw… "Mom?"

Doris McGarrett was thinner than Steve remembered. Her once lustrous brown locks had grayed, calling even more attention to the greenish blue eyes she shared with her son. "Hello, Steven," she said softly, opening the door fully and stepping aside, encouraging him to cross the threshold into the home. He willed his body to move, to take his mother into his arms, to hold her, to feel the heat from her body, to feel her heart beating in her chest. But his body would not obey, choosing instead to remain frozen on the small porch. "How…" he stuttered, blinking in quick succession. "How? What? I…"

The older woman smiled gently at her son. "There is so much I need to tell you, Steven. Please come in."

Steve looked over his shoulder again, hoping that Joe had re-appeared just as magically as he'd disappeared a few moments earlier. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before turning back to his mother, fully anticipating that seeing her, alive, before him had been little more than a mirage. When he opened his eyes again, the matching pair opposite his were warm and inviting. Once again, he willed his body to move, startling himself as he finally crossed into the house. Doris shut the door behind him and waved a hand toward a small settee in the middle of the room. Steve sat, watching intently as his mother eased down next to him. She reached one hand out to him and asked "May I?"

Steve nod his head slowly, allowing her to take his left hand in hers. He studied their joined hands, his so much larger than hers. Her skin was thinner than he remembered, finding blue veins pulsing prominently below the surface. He sucked in a breath as he noticed her bare ring finger. He didn't know why, but it never occurred to him that his mother wouldn't be wearing her wedding rings. Complete, utter shock was slowly giving way to anger as he heard his voice demand, "YOU are Shelburne?"

"Yes," she answered plainly.

Steve shook his head in a desperate attempt to clear the fog that had settled since his mother opened the door. "You let Mary and I believe…" he said incredulously.

"Yes," she replied again.

His brow furrowed in confusion. All his mother had offered him was a one word explanation. "Why?"

A burst of angry sadness flashed in her eyes before she answered, "To protect you."

"To protect me?" Steve repeated slowly.

She squeezed his hand gently. "Doris McGarrett _did_ die 21 years ago, Steven. I was not Doris before I met your father, and I have not been Doris since the day she died."

"I don't…" he began quietly, his eyes searching hers for more answers. "I don't understand."

"I was born Nancy Sheldon in Washington, D.C. in 1946 to Commander Thomas and Mary Sheldon. My father was a Navy pilot stationed at Pearl Harbor in 1941. He was stateside on December 7, 1941 because his father, my grandfather had died 5 days prior. He returned to Pearl to find most of his friends had been killed. After the war, he was recruited by one of his commanding officers into the Central Intelligence Group…"

"Precursor to the CIA," Steve added with another disbelieving shake of his head.

"Yes," Doris answered.

"So, what, you followed his lead into the CIA?" Steve surmised aloud.

She nodded affirmatively. "I was recruited my senior year at Georgetown. I'd suspected my father was CIA, but never had any confirmation. By the time I was old enough to really pay attention to his comings and goings, he was senior enough to be in the main office most of the time. I wanted desperately to do this, to be a part of protecting my country, just like my father. Three weeks after I graduated, my parents were killed when the small plane my father was piloting crashed on the way to our summer house in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. All I was told was that the plane experienced a malfunction and crashed. No explanation as to why an experienced aviator with hundreds of flight hours under his belt didn't, at the very least, radio that the plane was malfunctioning. It wasn't until I'd been in the agency for three years that I had the clearance to access the files associated with the crash…"

"That's all fascinating, Mom, but how did _you_ become Shelburne?" Steve demanded, his patience wearing thin.

"What I discovered in the files led me to believe that my parents were killed because of an investigation my father was conducting into the Yamaguchi-gumi family."

"The Yakuza," Steve interjected.

"Which, at the time, was run by your pal Wo Fat's grandfather, father and uncle," she explained. "In 1973, I was assigned to Hawaii and tasked with intercepting several low-level Yamaguchi-gumi the agency believed were attempting to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. In July of 1974, a team of SEALs led by Joe killed 5 family members in the middle of an arms buy from a high ranking army officer who had gone rogue. Wo Fat's father was among the 5 killed. All documentation regarding the investigations in Hawaii were entered under the name Shelburne. The CIA has…dealt…with the agents who were instrumental in providing the Yamaguchi-gumi family with information about the SEALs mission and Shelburne."

Steve shifted uncomfortably on the settee as he processed all the information his mother had given him. He knew it was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg though. He had so many more questions about how she met his father, where Joe came into the picture with his parents beyond being an unnamed SEAL commander. As if she could read his mind, Doris spoke again. "I know you have more questions Steven, and I will answer every one of them. But, you need to know I'm not here alone."

Steve shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, Joe's been here, I know that already."

"Not Joe," Doris replied with a shake of her head.

"Then who?" Steve asked angrily. "Who else from my past is going to pop up and say hello, Mom?"

"Me," a female voice answered clearly from the opposite corner of the room. Steve's head whipped around to face the voice. The identity of the woman before him was almost as shocking as finding his dead mother alive. His heart caught in his throat as he struggled to answer.

"Jennifer?"

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer still don't own Hawaii Five-0. Still just toying with their lives for a while.

Spoiler"Ua Hala", Season 2 Finale

Rated T for the one really bad word our favorite Commander utters

A/N - I am absolutely thrilled and humbled by the number of Favorite Story, Favorite Author and Review emails I've received since posting the first chapter. I only hope you all enjoy the rest as much!

* * *

Steve McGarrett had "daddy issues" as Lori had so eloquently stated once. He also had "mommy issues" thanks to his mother's death and knew he'd have a whole new set of issues now that she was alive. But, Steve McGarrett also had "girl issues", the primary cause of which was currently standing opposite him. Jennifer White, Joe's adopted daughter. Steve's first love. His former fiancee. The woman he would have given up everything to have. Steve opened his mouth several times to begin speaking, but found himself too stunned each time. She crossed the room toward them and laid a gentle hand on Doris' shoulder. The older woman reached up to clasp Jennifer's hand.

Steve ran his hands over his face, then placed them on his knees and leaned over as he felt the blood rushing from his head. His father. Victor Hesse. Wo Fat. Hiro Noshimuri. Joe. His mother. Jennifer. _Everything, everyone_ was linked. And the one person he'd never even entertained a notion of being involved seemed to be smack in the middle of it all. He could no longer determine what, if anything, in his life was real. Nothing was black and white anymore. Everything was tinged in a dark shade of gray.

Still bent over, Commander Steve McGarrett began to laugh. He looked up at the women and shook his head in disbelief. "I'm at a loss here," he said, waiving his hand between the two. "What the FUCK are you doing here, Jenn?"

"Steven! Language!" his mother admonished.

"Really?" he asked incredulously as he sprang from the settee. "I haven't seen you in 21 years. I thought you were dead. You don't get to correct my choice of profanity, Mom!" The fact that he sounded just like his partner wasn't lost on him. He turned to Jennifer with fire in his eyes. "I'm waiting," he said angrily.

"I'm your mother's protection detail," the younger woman answered.

Steve swallowed hard and narrowed his eyes at the woman he'd loved. "You're CIA?"

Jennifer nod her head sheepishly and had the decency to look guilty.

His hands flew to his hips and he glared at her. "How long?"

He didn't miss the tears that suddenly appeared in her eyes before she broke his gaze and looked away. If Jenn thought tears would soften the blow she and his mother had dealt him, she was sorely mistaken. "Almost eleven years," she answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Eleven years.." Steve repeated slowly as his brain made mental calculations. He was 35 now, Jennifer 34. Eleven years ago she'd graduated from Annapolis. He'd gotten down on one knee in his dress uniform and presented her a ring and promises for their future. Two months later, he was accepted into SEAL training and she left for a post in Naval Intelligence in Jakarta. But, she never really went in to Naval Intelligence - she was apparently CIA from the beginning. While this newfound knowledge did answer some lingering questions about the end of their relationship, it left him with a nagging fear. She _said_ eleven years, but was it the truth? He wasn't…he couldn't have been…

"Was I a mark?" he asked, startling himself as the words tumbled out.

Jennifer's head whipped around to face him, her confusion apparent. "What?"

Steve chuckled and scratched at the stubble that had been forming on his face in last 12 hours. "Was I your mark?" he repeated.

Her eyes met his and he felt a sudden desire to look away. "No," she replied evenly, her gaze steady.

He couldn't read her anymore. Years of absence from his life and the sudden blow to his heart of her being involved in the Shelburne conspiracy left him completely unable to determine if she was lying. "I need…" he began, his voice strained by exhaustion, "I need some time to think. I'm going out," he said, waving his hand in the general direction of the village that lay beyond his mother's tiny home. Neither woman stopped him as he nearly tore the door off its hinges in his haste to escape.

He arrived back on the porch and took a deep breath, forcing himself to blow it out slowly while he began to compose himself. He staggered down the steps and wandered back along the path Joe had brought him, stopping as he reached the water's edge. He sat down on the dock, watching the moonlight play off the soft waves of the ocean. The peaceful setting did nothing to quell the ferocious storm in his mind…his heart…his very soul.

His mother was alive. His mother was Shelburne. Joe was obviously in on it. Possibly, his father had been too. And Jennifer…her involvement left him baffled. He knew her dossier almost as well as he knew his own. Jennifer Michelle White, born July 24, 1978. Valedictorian of her San Diego high school, where Joe had introduced Steve to his stunning daughter. Steve had fallen, hard, for the beautiful auburn haired braniac and her easy smile, jade green eyes, and smattering of freckles on her nose. She was easily accepted to Annapolis thanks to her family's long history of naval service and graduated at the top of her class. Looking back now, Steve realizes that the CIA would have been stupid NOT to recruit Jenn, not that it provided any soothing to his heart.

He sensed, more than heard, Jenn come up behind him. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

Steve scoffed at the apology and continued to gaze out onto the water. He heard her sigh before noticing a bottle appear in his peripheral vision. "What's that?" he asked, hoping his tone sounded as cold and uninviting as he wanted it to.

"Nihonshu," Jennifer replied, setting the bottle on the dock between them. "You've processed quite enough of this nightmare sober."

He grinned despite himself. "Whadda you know of my nightmare, Jenn, huh?"

"I lost you. My future…_our_ future because of Shelburne. I've lived with it every single day for the last 11 years, Steve," she answered softly before walking away, leaving Steve alone with his thoughts and the bottle. He dug his cell phone out of the pocket on the cargo pants he wore. Turning to give a cursory scan of the area around him to ensure Jennifer was gone, he began to dial a familiar number.

"What the _hell_ is the matter with you?" Danny Williams' familiar rant greeted Steve's grateful ear. "You frikkin' ran off to Japan…again!"

Steve laughed his first genuine laugh in hours. "Hey, at least I called this time. No 'Dear Danno' letter."

"You're definitely on your way to earning your friendship badge, babe," Danny answered. "What's up?"

Steve took a breath. "I met Shelburne."

Danny remained silent on the other end of the line, waiting for the Commander to continue. "And…" he prompted after an extended silence from his best friend.

"It's my mother."

The sound of the phone clattering to the ground caused Steve to pull the handset away from his ear to avoid his eardrum bursting. "You alright there, Danno?" he asked when he could determine from Danny's various profanities that he'd retrieved the phone from the ground.

"Okay, you need to repeat that, because it sounded like you said _Shelburne_ is your mother."

Steve sighed. "That is exactly what I said, and the worst part is…_that_ isn't the worst part."

TBC….


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer - still don't own Hawaii Five-0. Still just toying with their lives for a while

Spoiler - "Ua Hala", Season 2 Finale

* * *

Two hours and several shots of the sake Jennifer had offered later, Steve McGarrett decided he was ready to stumble his way back to the modest abode housing his mother and fiancee. Ex-fiancee, he grimaced while mentally correcting himself. He found his mother sitting on a small upholstered bench just below the main window looking out onto the front porch, waiting for her son's return. As he closed the door softly behind him, he noticed a book in her lap, a scrapbook, upon further examination. He recognized the articles adhered to the page Doris was reading - the one on the left, the article about the drug bust that led to the kidnapping of a busload of kids and on the right, the article about the children's safe return to their parents.

He crouched beside her and examined the book more carefully, finding the pages torn & dog-eared from overuse. "Every time I see Joe, he brings me something to add," she explained softly, trailing her fingers over Steve's picture from the second article. "Programs from Mary's plays and recitals, the Mother's Day and birthday cards the two of you left at my grave…articles and scores from your football games. Your graduation announcement from Annapolis," she continued, flipping through the pages to allow Steve a glimpse into Doris' only lifeline to her children.

Steve stopped his mother's hand as she tried to flip past a page that contained a picture of him and Jennifer from the day they were introduced at a barbecue at Joe's. Steve had the smirk of a 17 year old boy lost in lust over a pretty girl while Jenn wore the smile of a pretty girl who knew the meaning behind the smirk. "God, we were so young," Steve said.

"You're still young," his mother countered, "Plenty of time for you two to settle down, give me a few grandchildren…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Steve held up his hands in defense. "There is no 'you two'. Not anymore. And it way too early in this reunion to be discussing grandchildren."

"She loves you," Doris offered with a knowing smile. "Never stopped."

"Yeah, well, she…left," Steve spat out, "She_ left_ and quite obviously, lied to me about…everything. So…"

Doris closed the book and regarded her son seriously. "You have more questions, Steven. Ask them."

Steve put a fist near his mouth and pulled on his bottom lip as he let a breath out. "Did you love Dad?"

Tears sprang to her eyes and she brushed them away with her fingers. "More than you will ever know. I loved him from the moment I laid eyes on him. The only thing harder than leaving him, was leaving you and Mary."

"Did Dad know about you? The CIA? Shelburne? How the hell does a school teacher become a CIA agent?" he inquired.

"No," Doris corrected, "The CIA agent became a teacher. Or at least that's what everyone thought, including your father. He had no idea when I'd go to work every day on base that I wasn't a kindergarten teacher."

"And he had no idea, never heard the name Shelburne?"

She shook her head. "Not until he began investigating Governor Jameson."

Steve fought to stifle a yawn, eliciting a grin from his mother. "You're tired, Steven. You should to get some sleep and we'll talk more tomorrow."

He wanted to argue, but exhaustion was winning and his eyes were involuntarily drifting shut. The time difference from Hawaii to Japan was wearing on him. He stood; then leaned down to press a kiss on Doris' cheek. "Are we safe here?" he inquired.

"For now," she answered gently. "Joe will know if we need to move."

* * *

He woke with a start hours later, disoriented, unsure whether last night's events were real or a figment of his imagination. He flipped onto his stomach in what he assumed was Jennifer's bed and buried his face deeper into a pillow that smelled like her. He didn't know where she'd slept last night, if she'd slept at all. His mind reminded his heart that they didn't care anymore.

He sighed as he realized he wasn't going to fall back asleep and sat up in the bed, stretching and listening to the birds outside the bedroom window. He shoved his feet into the cargo pants he'd discarded on the floor the night before and yanked them up before emerging bare chested. He wandered over to the front door, which was open, allowing a cool breeze in and found his mother kneeling on the porch, gardening. "You're still real," he said as he gazed, bewildered, at the woman he'd never expected to see again.

"I'm real," Doris affirmed with a smile. "If you're hungry, I made breakfast - scrambled eggs."

"K," he answered quickly before stepping back into the house in search of the food. As he passed the bathroom door, he could hear water running and assumed it was Jennifer in the shower.

He had questions – ones only she could answer. He surmised the house was wired, but hoped the bathroom was not as he slowly turned the knob.

She stood under the steaming water, palms resting against the tiles, eyes closed, letting the heat relax the bunched muscles in her neck and shoulders. Her body registered a tiny change in air pressure as the door to the bathroom silently opened and closed. "You better not be thinking of flushing the toilet in the middle of my nice hot shower," she called out.

A whoosh of water answered her and she scrambled to shut off the faucets before the water turned icy. She reached up to grab her towel but found herself clutching at air. "Call me crazy, but shouldn't all those years of close-quarters combat and near-death experiences made you a_ little_ more mature than the average 15 year old?"

"Maturity is highly overrated. That's a quote from my partner, by the way," Steve offered from the other side of the curtain.

"Danny, right?" Jennifer asked with smile while squeezing the excess water out of her hair. Steve ripped the shower curtain open and stood glaring at her. "What? That is your partner's name, isn't it?"

"I guess Joe's told you everything about me, huh?" he replied angrily, still fisting the shower curtain in a death grip.

Jennifer shook her head and Steve's glare softened minutely. "Only what I needed to know to protect Shelburne."

His eyes raked down her naked body before turning from her to retrieve the towel from the sink; then handed it to her. She accepted it with a small smile and wrapped it around her body before stepping out of the tub. Steve leaned against the sink and watched as she tucked the towel edge in. She reached past to him to retrieve a comb from the vanity. Her eyelids fluttered as she inhaled his scent. Someone who did not know Steve McGarrett as intimately as she had would think he was unaffected by the close proximity. She, however, noted the slightest hitch in his breathing.

"How long have you known my mother is Shelburne?" he asked as she began to run the comb through her hair.

She sat on the edge of the tub and sighed. Jennifer had been preparing herself to have this conversation with Steve since Joe had informed her of their imminent arrival. She never dreamed it would take place in a bathroom with her half-naked. "Can we maybe move this to the sitting room?" she asked cooly.

Steve grinned at her, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "I'm plenty comfortable here. You, uh, feeling exposed?"

Jennifer narrowed her eyes at him. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

There…the smile finally reached his eyes. "Little bit, yeah," he answered with a smirk. "Answer my question."

Jennifer worried her bottom lip between her teeth and cleared her throat before answering. "I was read in on Shelburne nine and a half years ago when the name came up in a case my team was working."

"What kind of case?"

"Two retired CIA agents and one active NSA agent were murdered within weeks of each other. MO was the same – tortured first. Cause of death was multiple GSWs that took a long time to bleed out, causing as much pain for the victim as possible."

Steve crossed his arms over his chest before answering. "And the investigation led you to Shelburne?"

"Yes," she answered quietly, "Those three agents had ties to a highly classified operation with the codename Orosu tied to the Yakuza. That led me to what I thought was an agent named Shelburne. But, I never could find any proof that Agent Shelburne actually existed. Each of the murdered agents had a notation in their files of the date 9 July 1974. Then other pieces started falling into place – other murders with the same MO and COD, all of them had been relocated multiple times throughout the years, all had the same date noted in their files.

"I was on to something – something big, obviously," she continued. "Then, I found Joe's name associated with the relocations of an agent named Nancy Sheldon. I confronted him about it. We got into a huge argument. He begged me to stop looking into the murders, but I couldn't. So I kept digging and discovered that Joe led the SEAL team that took down 5 members of the Yakuza on 9 July 1974."

Steve rubbed a hand across his forehead. "So Joe had you read in?"

Jennifer shrugged her shoulders gently. "It was either that or kill me."

Steve bent at the waist as a sudden wave of nausea overtook him. "Most days I wish they'd killed me," she continued with a bitter laugh.

He raised his head from his bent position to glare at her again. "Don't say that, Jenn."

"It's the truth," she answered. "If I could go back and stop myself from pushing so hard to find Shelburne, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Shelburne cost me everyone I loved."

"Why not just say 'she' cost me everything?" Steve asked curiously, gesturing toward the house beyond the bathroom door. "You keep referring to Shelburne like it's not my mother."

"Because it's not that simple, Steve. Shelburne isn't just one person. It was a team of CIA, Naval Intelligence, DOD and later, NSA and Homeland Security officers. Your mother is the_ only _surviving member."

Steve nod in understanding before crouching down before her, making it impossible for her to look away from him. "Jenn, I need you to be honest with me…" he began.

She shifted uncomfortably on the tub ledge, knowing he'd able to detect any untruth in her eyes. "How deep does this go?"

She held his gaze - her green eyes locked on his ocean colored ones. "Deeper than you can possibly fathom."

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer - still don't own Hawaii Five-0. Still just toying with their lives for a while

Spoiler - "Ua Hala", Season 2 Finale

A/N: "Kiotsuketene, Hahoya" means "be safe, mother" in Japanese, at least according to the online translators I'm using. "Aishteru, musume yo," means "I love you, my daughter".

* * *

"Deeper than you can possibly fathom." Jennifer's words echoed in his brain as he sat quietly on a dilapidated crate absently left on his mother's porch, watching as she examined various pots of herbs, watering some, taking clippings from others. He remembered how much Doris loved to garden, how she'd said it was a peaceful break from being a cop's wife and raising two boisterous and energetic children.

Each question his mother and Jennifer had answered led him to even more questions. He felt hopelessly lost in a maze of lies, secrets, conspiracies and deceits. His mother's voice drew him from the near trance he'd placed himself in, turning people, places, events and questions into a timeline.

"Steven?" He blinked quickly to clear his brain. "Your phone is ringing, son."

He dug the phone from his pocket and stabbed the green Accept button. "Good morning, Danny," he said quickly.

"It's actually 3 o'clock in the afternoon here and more importantly, we got a problem," the detective answered in a clipped tone. Steve launched himself off the crate and cast a glance at his mother, whose attention had been captured elsewhere. As he stepped up behind her, he saw Joe sprinting toward the porch.

"Wo Fat's gone," Danny quickly explained. "We think he escaped…"

Steve's heart immediately shot into overdrive and he began ushering his mother back into the home, where he found Jennifer standing in front of a desk, shoving a clip into a 9mm handgun. She turned and tossed it to him before shoving additional clips in the pockets of her jeans.

"_Guards found him dead in his cell t__his morning. Their ME pronounced him dead. No pulse, no sign of breathing..."_

Steve balanced the phone on his shoulder, filled his pockets with 9mm clips, watching as Jennifer stuffed Doris' scrapbook into a backpack and threw it over her shoulder. Joe crossed the threshold of the door and yelled "We gotta go…NOW!"

"_Guards load the body, per our instructions, to bring him to Max for autopsy. Van never arrives. HPD finds it aba__ndoned, three guards dead, no Wo Fat."_

Steve followed Joe out the door, keeping his mother between his body and Jennifer's.

"How much lead time does he have on us?" Steve inquired, allowing his eyes to scan the walkway ahead of Joe for potential threats.

"Two, three hours, tops," Danny answered. "Not enough to cross the Pacific, but more than enough to send goons."

"We're moving now," Steve replied, "I'm ditching this phone as soon as we get to the dock. I'll make contact when I can."

"Please, please stay safe and don't do anything stupid," Danny implored.

Jennifer scoffed at the grin that immediately formed on Steve's face. "You forget who you're talking to, Danno?" he answered before disconnecting the call, dropping the phone onto the ground below and smashing it with his boot and the heel of the 9mm.

"We're not going back to the dock?" he asked Joe when an old covered fishing truck skidded to a stop before them.

Joe threw open the cover's back door and offered Doris and Jennifer his hand to help them climb in. "No, air's faster. Got a chopper waiting. You ride with me."

Steve slid into the truck next to Joe and checked his weapon again before the driver took off in a direction Steve wasn't familiar with. "How'd you hear about Wo Fat before me?" Steve asked curiously.

"That's classified, son," Joe explained with a smile that bordered on mischievous.

"You're really gonna go there, Joe?" Steve asked incredulously. "All this time you've been protecting my mother; lying to me about Jenn and _now_you're playing the classified card? And don't even bother with the 'I'm protecting you' crap, either."

Joe laughed. "I wasn't going to say that. What I was going to say is, I'll tell you more…when we're safe."

The men rode in silence for about 20 minutes. Steve alternated checking on his mother and Jenn through the back glass of the truck cab and letting his eyes roam the dirt roads they were traveling. They quickly arrived at a level field well outside the village where a sleek black helicopter sat, its blades already spinning, waiting on its occupants. If Steve hadn't smashed his phone to prevent its GPS being tracked, he would have taken a photo for Danny to prove that black helicopters _do,_ in fact, exist.

"Arigatou," Joe said to the driver when the truck came to a halt. The man nod in reply. Steve jumped out of the truck and ran to the back for Doris and Jennifer. The group hurried toward the chopper. Jennifer climbed on first and extended her hand to Doris. Steve helped his mother in before hopping in after. Jennifer angled herself into the front passenger seat. Joe was the final person to board and motioned for them to don the headphones hanging above them.

"Let's go!" Joe yelled to the pilot, who nodded his head and began flipping switches.

"Intel says a man matching Wo Fat's description boarded a charter plane 2 hours, 5 minutes ago," the pilot began explaining as the chopper quickly began gaining altitude. "Our men in Seoul intercepted a call from a burner phone with a GPS location in Honolulu to known Wo Fat associates. Less than an hour later, they were on the move."

"Flight manifest?" Steve inquired.

"Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett, Agent Aiden Frye," Joe said quickly, waving a hand between the two men.

Frye shook his head before answering. "Aleutian Islands. Safe to say that's BS."

"Where are _we_ headed, Aiden?" Doris asked.

Steve turned his attention to Jennifer, watching as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth while scanning the ground below them. It was one of her "tells", how he always knew when she was nervous or scared.

"We're gonna play an exciting game of island hopping," Frye answered with a grin, turning his head and waggling his eyebrows at Doris, who laughed in response.

Steve then watched as Aiden turned to carefully regard at his co-pilot before reaching his hand over and allowing it to rest on hers, giving a gentle squeeze.

He knew his eyes went wide at the sight of another man holding Jennifer's hand. He could feel Joe's gaze on him but when he turned to face his former commander; the older man quickly looked away.

His jaw tensed, but he was unsure of the emotion behind it. Anger? Jealousy? Possessiveness? He didn't know, but his preliminary high assessment of Agent Aiden Frye had swiftly and categorically tanked.

Steve felt the helicopter bank to the southwest and surmised they were going to land in South Korea to either refuel or change transport. He knew this was the smartest choice, as Wo Fat's men were already on their way to Japan.

As the chopper began descending into Busan, South Korea, Jennifer retrieved the backpacked she'd haphazardly thrown on the floor beneath her. Opening the front zipper, she took out a stack of blue United States passports. She lifted the front cover on each before tossing it to the person with the matching photo.

Steve grabbed his and held the edge up toward Joe. "Lemme guess, your pal Detweiller?"

"He is the best," the older man confirmed with a nod.

Steve flipped the cover open to find his new identity – Matthew Morrison of New Orleans, Louisiana. "What's the plan?" he asked.

"You and I are going to board a commercial flight to Manila," Jennifer began to explain. "Three tickets were purchased, so it will be assumed Shelburne is with us. Noshimuri has a safe house there. We'll stay a day or two; try to draw out Wo Fat or his men. Joe and Aiden will get your mom back to Honolulu and secured."

The helicopter landed gently and Steve quickly opened the door. He greeted the two agents that met them with a nod before assisting his mother out. Jennifer hopped out from the passenger side and Aiden quickly handed off the helicopter to one of the agents, who would transport it to a third location as another diversion. The remaining agent ushered the group toward two parked vehicles.

"This is where we split up," Joe announced, casting a wary look at his daughter. Jennifer launched into his waiting arms and hugged her father tight. "Be safe," she said quietly. Joe pressed a kiss to the side of her face and answered "you too" before releasing her.

Steve stepped over to his mother and gathered her in his arms while Jennifer bid goodbye to Aiden. "I love you, son," Doris whispered in his ear. "I love you too, Mom," he answered with a grin. "See you soon." She nod in reply as he pulled away. When she touched his cheek with her hand, he noticed the tears she was fighting back.

"We'll go first," Jennifer said as she crossed over to them. She reached out and took Doris' hand. "Kiotsuketene, Hahoya."

"Aishteru, musume yo," Doris answered, giving Jennifer's hand a tight squeeze.

Steve placed a hand on the small of Jennifer's back and began to lead her to their waiting vehicle. He opened the door for her and allowed her to slide into the backseat. He turned and took a final look at his mother and Joe before sliding in himself.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer - Still don't own Hawaii Five-0. Still just toying with their lives for a while.

Spoilers - "Ua Hala", Season 2 Finale

* * *

"So," Steve began as the sedan sped away from the heliport, "You and Agent Frye, huh?"

Jennifer turned and glared at him. "Don't," she warned.

Steve shrugged in response. "I'm just curious, the two of you seem very comfortable with one another."

She rolled her eyes and if looks could kill, Steve would be a dead man. "What?" he finally asked when she only continued glaring at him. "I'm not allowed to ask about your personal life?"

Jennifer's angry features slowly softened into an amused smirk. "Ask all you want, Steve. How's Catherine, by the way?"

"Catherine is none of your business," Steve answered with an annoyed huff. He shook his head when he realized he'd played right into Jennifer's hand.

"And Aiden is none of yours," she countered, silent victory registering in her eyes.

They rode in uncomfortable silence for several minutes before Steve found himself compelled to speak again. "So, what's our story? Newlyweds on our honeymoon? Wanna-be parents looking to adopt internationally?"

"How 'bout siblings who can barely stand each other?" Jennifer suggested. "Or maybe a former couple celebrating their divorce?"

"You know, I thought I was doing pretty damn good for a guy who was left at the altar, lied to by his fiancee and almost father-in-law for God knows how long."

"You think I _wanted _to leave you?" Jennifer shouted back incredulously. "Do you truly, honestly believe I was given a choice?"

"How would I know?" he demanded. "We didn't talk about it, there was no conversation. I got a 'Dear Steve' letter from your dad and a returned engagement ring."

Jennifer swiped her fingers at the tears that had sprung up in her eyes. "Well guess what? There was no conversation on my end either. There was no warm and fuzzy talk where the CIA presented my options. It was 'suck it up and break the heart of the man you love so much it may very well kill you' or 'we kill YOU.'

"And," she continued with her voice breaking with emotion, "in the end, I thought about what you would do if the situation was reversed. If it was Joe in that position instead of your mom. I'd…want you to protect Joe. And you'd do it. Because you loved me, you'd do it. No matter how hard it was. Whatever heartache I had to endure, I could, knowing I was doing something you couldn't do yourself."

The car arrived at the main drop off location of the airport as she stopped speaking. She beat a hasty retreat from the car, leaving a stunned Steve in her wake. She slammed the door, breaking Steve's daze. He exited the opposite door and joined her at the trunk of the vehicle where she was unloading two small suitcases. A gentle breeze caused her auburn hair to curl around her face. Even as she struggled to school her emotions and return an indifferent expression to her face, Steve could see the myriad of emotions flying behind her eyes. He realized that the anger he'd been holding on to since the end of their relationship was at best, misdirected and at worst, completely unfounded.

"Jenn…" he started.

"Don't," she said again, throwing up her hand to stop him this time. "Just…don't. We have a job to do, let's just do it."

"We're not done talking about this," he answered.

"Yes, we are," she replied angrily, yanking the handle on the more feminine suitcase up with more force that was required, accidentally tipping the case onto its side. "My name is Anna, by the way," she said as she righted the case and turned away from him to greet the porter who would assist them into the terminal.

He groaned and sprinted after her, half-heartedly listening to the instructions the porter was giving. He walked them to the ticket counter and loaded their bags onto the scale.

"Kamsahamnida." Jennifer thanked the porter and turned to Steve with an expectant expression.

He stared at her in confusion for a moment before what she wanted him to do finally registered. "Kamsahamnida," he repeated before offering the porter several bills the agent had given him.

"Anieyo," the porter responded, gratefully accepting the tip.

Jennifer handed her passport to the agent at the ticket counter. Steve followed suit before taking a huge chance and extending his arm around Jennifer's back, onto her hip, and giving it a gentle squeeze as a silent apology. He felt her tense under his touch, but her face never registered a reaction.

Mr. Morrison, Mrs. Morrison," the agent said, handing both passports back to Jennifer, "your gate is C-56. As you go up the escalator, you will find signs in English directing you to the correct concourse and gate. Have a wonderful trip."

Jennifer stepped onto the escalator first with Steve a step behind. As it began lifting them, their height nearly evened out, providing Steve with easy access to whisper in Jennifer's ear. "You didn't correct the ticket agent."

He sensed more than saw her eyes roll again. "You know as well as I do that correcting misconceptions draws unwanted attention."

As he stepped off the escalator, he reached to take Jennifer's hand in his own and couldn't control the small chuckle that escaped when she recoiled from his touch. "If we're going to be married, we should act like it," he explained.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Maybe we just had a fight and I don't want to hold your hand. Oh wait," she said as an ironic smile overtook her lips, "that's _exactly_ what happened."

Steve grabbed her hand and forced her to stop walking. He ran his thumb over the soft skin of her hand before whispering, "I'm sorry. I was angry and didn't think about you'd been through."

He smiled gently as the fire behind her jade eyes abated slowly. "Okay," she responded softly.

She didn't retrieve her hand as they began to walk toward the train that would take them to Concourse C for their flight. He stood behind her as they boarded the crowded train, bracing her body with his own against the force of the quick starts and stops of the train. She didn't apologize as her back bumped into his front, nor did he complain. He took her hand again after examining the signs directing them to gate 56. They passed the first several gates hand-in-hand, both scanning the crowds out of habit for potential threats. As they strode past gate 40, Steve suddenly stopped and jerked Jennifer into a slightly secluded corner just outside one of the in-house phones. Before she could react, his lips crashed down on hers.

TBC...


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer - Still don't own Hawaii Five-0. Still just toying with their lives for a while.

A/N - I intended to be able to post a chapter a day...however, an extremely evil migraine decided to laugh maniacally at my plan and I've been out of commission for a few days.

* * *

He didn't intend to kiss her like…that. He meant it to be quick, a closed mouth kiss designed only to provide a momentary cover. But his intentions were all but forgotten the moment his mouth descended on hers. Kissing Jennifer was everything he remembered and more. Fire, passion, familiarity born from years of practice, her fingers instinctively tangling in his hair, his hands on her hips pressing her impossibly closer to him. The taste of her mouth, the intimate slide of her tongue against his…he was lost in it, in her, his desire, his need for the woman he'd loved and lost so long ago. He fought an overwhelming urge to trail his lips down the column of her throat to the sensitive spot where neck met collarbone, the spot he'd attacked on more than one occasion to send her over the edge. He forced his eyes to drift open, scanning the seemingly infinite concourse to ensure the threat to their mission had passed. He broke the kiss with a gentle peck to her lips and could swear he heard her whimper from the loss of pressure of his mouth against hers.

"Who was it?" she asked quietly, resting her forehead against his chest. He willed his heart rate to return to normal and paused before answering, "Adam Noshimuri."

She looked up at him, brows knit in confusion. "I thought Noshimuri was on our side?"

"_He_ is," Steve answered. "Joe's not too sure about some of his associates and one of them was with Adam."

"Did he see us?" she asked. Steve could feel the beat of her heart thumping wildly against his chest. "I don't think so," he answered, blowing out a slow breath before releasing her hips from his firm embrace.

Jennifer turned from him immediately and started down the concourse to the gate. He took another second to compose himself before following. This time, he didn't reach for her hand and she didn't offer it. Arriving at Gate 56, Jennifer slid into one of the chairs located against the window overlooking the tarmac, choosing carefully to provide the best view of the public space around the gate. Steve sank into the chair beside her. "Do we need to talk about what just happened?" he asked gently.

She shook her head. "We both know it meant nothing."

Steve schooled his features to feign indifference, a relatively safe emotion compared to the anger he felt at her dismissal..Jennifer refused to meet his gaze each time he looked over at her. "Okay," he answered.

"Okay," she repeated.

The uncomfortable silence returned, the awkwardness ratcheted up by no less than 100 degrees. Jennifer pulled an E-reader from the backpack she was using as a carry on and handed Steve a sports magazine. When he offered his thanks for the reading material, she barely mumbled "mm-hm". He couldn't help feeling that they'd gone from "happily married" to "bitter exes" in the span of two short minutes. They sat, pretending to read and ignoring each other until the gate attendant announced the boarding for their flight. He lifted her backpack and slid it over his shoulder. As the gate attendant scanned Jennifer's boarding pass, Steve heard the normal beep as the pass was scanned, but also heard a muffled beep, one most likely checking their non-existent third passenger in. He contemplated how the CIA could have hacked in to the airlines' system to force a double check-in as the attendant scanned his pass.

Two hours and 43 minutes later, the plane descended into Ninoy Aquino International Airport. After retrieving their bags, the slid into a cab that escorted them to a small waterfront property in Laguna de Bay, just outside the Manila city limits. Steve paid the driver and offered his thanks while Jennifer dug a key out of her backpack to open the front door. Crossing the threshold, Steve found Jennifer standing at the bar in the kitchen, turning one of the two cell phones left on the counter by someone who had obviously prepped the house for them. He stepped over to a small table and chairs and examined a large, black metal box containing guns and ammunition. "Nice place," he said with a grin, selecting a weapon from the box and holding it for Jennifer to see. "Well stocked," he teased.

He was grateful for the break in the awkwardness that had plagued them since he kissed her when Jennifer rolled her eyes and laughed. "We're nothing if not prepared," she countered. She turned to open the refrigerator door and examine the contents. "You hungry?"

His stomach rumbled in response. She laughed again and retrieved a carton of eggs, ham, fresh spinach, peppers, cheese and milk from their respective shelves. "Omelets okay?"

"Sounds great," he answered. He continued pulling weapons and ammunition out of the box, vigilantly checking each gun before loading it. He found himself watching her as she worked, quickly chopping the ham and spinach before emptying them into the bowl containing the cracked eggs. His mind flashed back to Saturday mornings he'd wake up to the enticing smell of freshly brewed coffee and find her in the kitchen, wearing nothing but one of his t-shirts, cooking up omelets or flipping pancakes.

She folded one of the omelets before picking it up with a spatula and sliding it onto a plate. She pushed it across the bar toward him. He smiled and sauntered into the kitchen to procure silverware and pour them both a glass of milk. He grabbed his plate from the bar and sat the table, waiting for her to join him before digging in. She flopped into the chair opposite him and immediately stifled a yawn. They ate in near silence, interrupted every couple of minutes by Jennifer's rapidly increasing yawns. After she failed to hide a massive one, Steve chuckled. "I know you didn't sleep last night."

"I'm fine," she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Go sleep," he gently demanded. "I'll take first watch." Whatever argument she might have been formulating died on her lips as she took in his stern expression. "Yes, Commander," she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes at Steve's smug, satisfied grin.

He finished his meal and dared to check in on her, finding her sprawled out on top of the covers on what had always been "her" side of the bed. He longed to climb in with her, settle her lithe body against his and hold her tight. But he knew those thoughts were irresponsible, not only because they were in danger but there were other complications - namely a beautiful brunette named Catherine and a suave, blond "Ken doll" named Aiden Frye.

He moved from the bedroom to retrieve the cell phone Jennifer had turned on previously from the counter. He punched in Danny's cell number and waited. "This better be one of those 'secure' lines you're always yakking about, cuz I need some answers," Danny said upon answering.

"It's a CIA phone, so I'm gonna assume," Steve replied with a grin Danny couldn't see, but knew his partner heard. "Just in case, though, I not gonna tell you where we are. And we'll keep this short."

"And I won't tell you I spoke to Joe already," the detective countered. "But everything's cool there."

"Yeah, everything's cool here too," Steve confirmed.

"How's the ex?" Danny asked.

Steve groaned and rubbed his hand over the stubble that had formed on his jaw. "Sleeping," he finally answered.

"With clothes or without?" the detective asked with a laugh.

"You realize you're wasting valuable time with inane questions, right?"

"We've got every acronym-ed agency looking for the missing 'package', so I'm kind of bored, honestly."

"Glad to hear it, Danno," Steve replied with a sigh. "I'm gonna hang up now."

"K. I'll let you know if we hear anything. Stay safe, babe."

"You too," Steve countered before disconnecting the call. He dropped the phone back onto the counter and stepped out onto a small back balcony overlooking the lagoon. He leaned his forearms on the wood railing and ran a hand over his face. He felt close to his breaking point. It was all too much - his responsibility to his team, his friends in Hawaii, protecting his mother, his re-emerging feelings for Jennifer, the betrayal he felt from both of them and Joe. He could only hope Jenn's plan worked and this nightmare was almost at an end.

TBC...


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

He'd been settled in a lounge chair on the back balcony overlooking the bay for several hours, a file from Jennifer's backpack balanced on one knee, a notebook on the other. He flipped pages and scratched notes onto the paper, connecting his thoughts, theories and facts to one another. He heard Jennifer quietly approaching behind him. "Finding any answers?" she asked curiously.

He turned to face her and found the outdoor sconces casting a warm glow on her auburn hair – a halo, really. His heart caught in his throat – he remembered this feeling – how each time he looked at Jennifer seemed just like the first time. "A few," he finally answered with a sigh.

She nod once and stepped over his outstretched legs to slide into the chair across from him. "Need any help?"

"Maybe," he replied, scratching at his beard. He flipped through the first 2 pages of his notes, reviewing them quickly before speaking again. "So, Thomas Sheldon…"

"Your grandfather," Jennifer interjected.

Steve took a breath to recover from the shock of Jennifer referring to a man he'd never met, never even known about until 2 days ago, as his grandfather. "Uh, yeah," he stammered. "So, my…grandfather…is in the squadron that drops the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 August 1945. Almost immediately goes to work for the OSS. The notes say he learned Japanese during the war, so that was a valuable asset. He's in DC, marries Mary, which now explains my sister's name. Mom's born a year later. Sheldon goes back and forth between DC and the Pacific. OSS believes Japan is trying to arm themselves with nuclear weapons, which is where the Yakuza comes in. Then there's a task force specifically assigned to the Yakuza…"

Jennifer nodded her head slowly. "The Yamaguchi-gumi were running the show at the time, so the task force focused specifically on them while other agents were assigned to other families lower in the Yakuza hierarchy. An UnSub sold out the OSS and CIA agents assigned to the task force. Because your grandfather was the head, someone tampered with his plane and your grandparents crashed."

"But," Steve continued, "Mom was already in the CIA. Yakuza think it's all done until she starts digging into her parents' murder…"

"What is it with you and women who just can't leave well enough alone?" Jennifer teased.

"Ha!" Steve laughed heartily. "You know, I'd have lost all the evidence in my dad's toolbox had Mary _not_ interfered and photographed every single item?"

Jennifer's attention was suddenly captured elsewhere. "Jenn?" Steve questioned.

She leapt from the chair and reached out a hand to pull him to his feet. "We got company," she explained quickly. Steve groaned as he stood and gathered the file Jennifer had prepared for him and his notes. Steve grabbed the rifle he'd stashed by the back door as they re-entered the house. She crossed to the metal box that had contained various guns and ammunition when they arrived and removed a small container. She opened it and stepped over to Steve, sliding it in to his right ear while he donned a bullet proof vest and stashed additional ammo in his back pockets.

He immediately heard the voices Jennifer must have heard in her ear on the back balcony. "Blanche," one of the male voices stated, "_Vehicle approaching, lights off, approximately ½ kilometer from our location, less than 1 to yours."_

"Wo Fat?" Steve questioned, immediately checking the straps on the vest Jennifer had just put on to ensure correct positioning. "Really?" she asked irritably, her eyes narrowed at him.

"Blanche?" he replied, amused by her apparent code name.

"_Unknown, Kermit_." Steve immediately glared at Jennifer who bit her bottom lip to keep from snickering.

"Navy SEAL? Frogman? Kermit!" was her gleeful explanation.

"Yeah, I got it, Jenn. Thanks," he fired back.

"_Be advised, there is also a small boat in the lagoon, traveling in your general direction."_

"Copy," Jennifer said quickly, cocking the gun in her hand and shoving another into the back waistband of her jeans.

"_Backup maintaining distance – 1 minute out."_

Steve heard the slightest crush of feet on gravel just outside the small home's front door. He motioned for Jennifer to stay back, providing cover for him and keeping an eye on the approaching boat. She nod once in understanding before slinking against a wall so she'd be unseen by the anyone coming through the front door.

Steve crouched below the bar that formed one side of the kitchen and waited. He heard picks in the front lock, unnecessary because neither of them had bothered locking the door, hoping for just this situation. The door swung open and two armed men entered. "Come out, come out, wherever you are…" the taller of the men teased in Japanese.

He glanced back at Jennifer, who could see the intruders' faces. She shook her head to indicate that neither of them was Wo Fat. He grimaced, realizing their plan to draw Wo Fat to them had most likely failed. He didn't believe Shelburne was really with them if he'd only sent his minions. It also told him that the boat _was_ coming for them – the guys coming through the front were sent to keep Steve and Jennifer busy while others attacked from the back of the house to subdue or kill them.

He positioned his rifle and waited. He and Jennifer had a slight advantage over the intruders, having already memorized the layout of the house. As the men closed in on Steve's position, he fired diagonally once, taking out the target closest to him. Jennifer fired at the same time, hitting the second target. Both men collapsed onto the floor dead. They turned their attentions to four men creeping up the back stairs to the balcony. A shot shattered the glass door as Steve emerged from his position. He ducked and crept toward Jennifer.

"How do you want to do this?" she asked quietly.

"I go top, you go bottom?" he suggested.

Jennifer chucked silently. "Kinky."

Steve could only shake his head and try to squelch his laughter.

As all four men topped the stairs, Jennifer and Steve began firing.

"_Coming in the front."_

One of the intruders eyed the agents coming through the front. He got a shot off, hitting one before being gunned down by the second. Jennifer took out the man closest to them while Steve's gun easily brought down the other two.

They emerged onto the balcony, tossing the dead men's weapons back into the house before checking for vital signs and identification. The fallen agent took a hit to the chest but seemed to be fine.

"You alright?" Steve questioned, quickly examining Jennifer's vest and extremities for injuries.

She gently pushed his hand away. "I'm fine, Steve. Not the first time I've been under fire and it won't be the last."

His face scrunched as he realized she was right – Jennifer had done a great job of keeping herself alive and well for at least the last 9 years, possibly more. His eyes lit as he remembered her perfect alabaster skin when he'd accosted her in the shower, unblemished by obvious bullet holes or lingering angry red scars.

Jennifer narrowed her eyes at him. "You're picturing me naked right now, aren't you?"

Steve was smart enough to look slightly guilty before answering with a grin, "I can neither confirm nor deny that, Ma'am."

"I'm gonna 'Ma'am' you in a minute," he heard her mutter under her breath before he gathered her in his arms. It wasn't enough to _see_ that she was fine; he needed to _feel_ it as well. He rested his chin on her head, her hands immediately went to his waist and he sighed. "We're like a crazy version of 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith'", he said quietly. Jennifer laughed against his chest. "If you think I'm gonna be shooting bad guys wearing nothing but one of your shirts and some rains boots, you are sadly mistaken, Commander."

"But I'd be Brad Pitt in a wife-beater and boxers," he countered.

Jennifer pulled away from him and grinned. "Brad Pitt's got nothing on you."

_That's my girl_, he thought to himself before grinning back at her. Jennifer pulled one of the cell phones from her back pocket and dialed.

"Hey," she said to whoever was on the other end of the line. "Steve and I just had some visitors."

He stepped away as she spoke, using the phone in his pocket to snap photos of the men they'd killed. After conversing with the agents who'd backed them up, he texted the photos he'd taken to them and they all stood waiting for further instructions from Jennifer.

"Balana, Garay, thank you for the back-up," Jennifer said after disconnecting the call and extending her hand toward each man. "New orders for you two are to head back to the office. Cleaners are on their way here."

"Yes Ma'am," the men said in unison before shaking Steve's hand and departing.

"So we wait for the cleaners?" Steve asked once they were alone.

Jennifer worried her bottom lip between her teeth and shook her head. "No," she answered quickly. "Something's wrong. Wo Fat had plenty of time to get here. He knows Shelburne isn't with us or he would have come."

"I agree," Steve answered with a nod. "So…"

She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, weighing her options. "You up for an adventure, Commander?" she finally asked with a grin.

"Bring it on," he answered.

TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

Jennifer White's idea of an adventure _started_ with grand theft auto. After "borrowing" the Mercedes S class sedan the bad guys had arrived in, they ditched it once they were back in Manila city limits, swapping the car for an older model Camaro they could hot wire. Steve stood watch while Jennifer did the honors, bent under the steering column. "Haha!" she exclaimed as the vehicle roared to life.

She adjusted the seat for her height and grinned over at Steve. "Need a ride, Sailor?" she teased.

He laughed and crossed over to the passenger side of the vehicle. "Where ya headed?" he asked, sliding into the seat and shutting the door.

"Wake Island," she answered, pulling the Camaro out onto the empty street.

"I sincerely hope the CIA taught you that Camaros are not amphibious vehicles," he replied with a smirk.

"Funny," she said sarcastically. "The Agency keeps a small passenger plane in a hanger at a commercial airport just outside the city. It'll take us about an hour to drive there. Once we're airborne we'll deactivate the GPS and radar for as long as we can."

"Wake Island where Shelburne is?" he asked curiously.

"Far as I know," Jennifer muttered with a huff Steve didn't understand. She navigated the deserted nighttime roads and highways with ease, clearly lost in thought, running her top teeth over her bottom lip repeatedly. He started to speak several times before discreetly shaking his head and keeping quiet, allowing her to connect the dots on whatever she was processing.

"Jenn?" he finally asked, "What's going on in that head of yours?"

She shook her head angrily, even briefly closing her eyes before answering him. "Something is _wrong,_ Steve. We did everything right. _Everything_. Wo Fat _should_ have followed us. But he didn't. Why didn't he follow us?"

Steve had known the answer from the moment Jennifer shook her head to alert him none of the intruders were Wo Fat. "Someone tipped him off," he said.

Jennifer nodded her head. "But who? Six people on the planet knew we were moving Shelburne - me, Joe, Aiden, Doris, my immediate superior and you."

"Suspects?" he asked carefully.

She shook her head slightly, a far off look in her eyes.

"Anybody on that list you trust less than anyone else?" he pressed.

She only shook her head again in reply. Steve took a deep breath before speaking again. "Jenn, you have to talk to me. I can't help if you don't."

"You want me to say Aiden and I won't," she said crossly, subtlety angling her body away from his in the small confines of the car.

"Did I say 'Jenn, tell me it's your boyfriend'?" he shot back.

"No," she shrugged, "of course you didn't. That's not the way you roll."

"The way I roll?" he shouted incredulously. "What the hell…"

"I was raised from the age of 11 by the SEAL who trained _you_," Jennifer yelled, cutting him off. "I hate to be the one to break it to ya, but you're using the 'Joe White System' on the wrong girl."

Steve's eyes cut to the roof of the vehicle and he groaned in frustration. "Fine," he said through clenched teeth. "We know it's not you or me or Joe. That leaves my mother, your boss and your boyfriend."

"_I_ never said Aiden was my boyfriend," Jennifer replied, the speed of the vehicle amping up right along with her anger. "That seems to be your description of choice."

"He was holding your hand on the helicopter, Jenn. There was an intimate embrace when we split up at the heliport. What was I supposed to think?" Steve yelled, pounding his right fist into his left hand.

"Christ, Steve, that it's none of your damn business? And that was not an 'intimate embrace'," she replied, miming quotation marks with her fingers.

He glanced at the speedometer. "Are you trying to get a fucking speeding ticket when we're supposed to be off the grid?"

"Would you stop using that word?" she shot back, easing off the gas pedal.

His face broke into a grin. "What, fuck?"

"You know I _hate_ that word," she said quietly, resting her arm on the windowsill, then her on her fist.

"I'm sorry," he replied half-heartedly, the grin still firmly set on his features. "I'll just call him Frye; then, okay?"

"What-ever," she drawled out, sarcasm dripping off each syllable.

"How long has Frye been involved with Shelburne?" Steve asked.

"Just shy of two years," Jennifer answered quickly.

"What's his backstory?" Steve probed.

She gripped the steering wheel with both hands and extended her arms as far as she could. Steve didn't know if she was stretching or trying to keep herself from smacking him upside the head. But, when her position relaxed after a few moments, she began to speak. "Two tours in the Marines, Force Recon, 3rd Unit. Basic skills in most Asian Pacific languages, fluent in Mandarin and Japanese. CIA recruited him five years ago. He sort of…stumbled onto the Shelburne case."

"Stumbled how?" Steve asked.

"A totally screwed-up Op. The right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing. We were relocating your mom and 2 other Shelburne agents. The intel he'd been given basically said Joe was a bad guy, so he was tracking my dad while he was in Japan, and ran smack into the relo," she explained.

"Oh, so he hit it off with your dad right away then," Steve teased.

Jennifer rolled her eyes and glared at him, trying to stifle the grin threatening to erupt on her face. "Shut up. So after that botched op, we…meaning our immediate superiors…said we needed more cooperation, so we teamed up and Aiden's been on Shelburne ever since."

"And the 2 other agents?"

"Wo Fat has managed to track down every agent he believed could lead him to Shelburne. He'd torture them and eventually kill them because they wouldn't give him the identity of Shelburne. The truth was they were_ all_ Shelburne."

A deep sense of dread overwhelmed him. "And my mother is the only one left."

Jennifer nod gently. "She's the backbone, the analyst, the one who connected point A to point B. Every person, every note, every op is in _her_ head."

Jennifer turned into a small airport well on the outskirts of the city. They emerged from the Camaro and Steve watched as she crossed over to a keypad on the frame of the entrance. She punched in a series of numbers and a gentle whir could be heard as the door began to creak open. Inside was a small propeller driven Cessna aircraft. "We'll have to refuel in Guam. Fuel tank isn't large enough to go without," she explained. Steve nod a quick reply as he checked out the immaculately clean aircraft. He ran his hand along the wing. "She's a beuat," Steve said appreciatively. "You flown this bird before?"

"Not this particular one, no," Jennifer answered, pulling the main door open.

"Grand theft auto and commandeering a government aircraft," he said with a grin. "This adventure is a lot more felonious than our previous ones."

She climbed into the pilot's seat and flipped several switches. "Gas is full, so we're good there. She retrieved a manual from an overhead pocket and quickly perused it before shoving it back above her head. "Let's roll, Commander."

TBC…


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

It took Jennifer the entire flight time to Guam, refueling and taking off again to sort through whatever thoughts or suspicions she had about who had tipped off Wo Fat to Shelburne's location. In his mind, Steve knew it _had_ to be Aiden. Nothing else made sense. But he knew better than to try and push Jennifer to the same conclusion. She had to get there on her own. She would argue that it could have just as easily been her boss, a supervising CIA agent named Tim Bartholomew. Nothing in Bartholomew's dossier had peaked Steve's concern. He knew next to nothing about the man who had been tasked with protecting his mother, though. If Wo Fat had a mole in Shelburne's inner circle, it was Aiden Frye.

"Can your team run financials and background on each one of us?" she finally asked after several hours of excruciating silence.

"Sure," Steve replied simply, continuing to scan the seemingly infinite blackness surrounding them from his co-pilot seat. He knew this was as close to a "win" as he was going to get for now. "I'll get word to Danny when we land."

"I can't wait to meet him," Jennifer replied, "and the rest of your team, too."

"Danny will undoubtedly love you," he answered with a smirk.

Jennifer laughed. "Anybody who can give you the grief Joe tells me Danny does-deserves a medal in my opinion," she stated, earning an eye roll from Steve.

She flipped a switch on the panel next to her and began hailing the USAF radar tower on Wake Island. She identified herself and the aircraft and began to receive landing instructions from the tower.

He watched her intently as she prepped to land the plane - the tiny lines that developed at the corners of her eyes when she was concentrating, her thin, small fingers pressing brightly lit buttons, the gentle curve of her neck taunting him as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"You're staring," she said quietly, not looking over at him, but continuing to work the buttons and gears.

"Sorry," he replied with a thinly veiled smile.

She bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling and shook her head gently. "No, you're not."

A bright grin erupted on his face. "You're right, I'm not."

The landing gear whirred as it eased into place. Jennifer used the yoke to flare the plane so the rear tires contacted the runway first, then pushing it forward to bring the nose gear down as well. She navigated the craft toward the main building of the Wake Island Airport and quickly hopped out, being instantly greeted by two military police officers.

They checked Jennifer's flight log, credentials and gun before turning to Steve, repeating the process. Once cleared, they were ushered toward a waiting Jeep. The younger officer, who had been none too subtle in ogling Jenn, instinctively offered his hand to assist her into the back of the vehicle. When she placed her hand in his, Steve found himself staring daggers at the kid. He scrambled into the back seat of the Jeep beside Jennifer, immediately resting his arm behind her on the back of the seat, much to the obvious dismay of the officer, who noted the possessive gesture via the rearview mirror with an inaudible sigh.

The driver drove the sparse military roads covering the V-shaped island, arriving at a small barracks facility only a few minutes after pulling away from the airstrip. "Lt. Commander White was assigned number 2, Ma'am," he said, easing the Jeep into neutral and applying the parking brake. Steve and Jennifer thanked the officers before exiting the vehicle. He crossed to the large metal door and yanked it open before allowing Jennifer to step into the building first. Steve knew the barracks and guided her toward the right side of the long hallway. He followed less than a step behind, the desire to protect her growing stronger with each passing moment near her.

When they reached #2, Jennifer knocked on the door before announcing, "Dad, it's me and Steve, open up."

She paused a moment before knocking on the door again. "Dad? Aiden? You in there?"

Silence answered them. Steve didn't miss the flash of fear in Jennifer's eyes as she turned to look at him. "Sleeping, maybe?" Steve offered in explanation.

"All three of them? At the same time?" Jennifer asked incredulously.

Steve reached out to try the doorknob and found it unlocked. Catching Jennifer's eye, he pulled his gun from the back waistband of his jeans. Once she had done the same, he turned the knob again and opened the door to the dark VIP quarters. The light from the hallway illuminated the interior, revealing the unconscious, prone form of one Agent Aiden Frye.

Steve snaked his hand out to flip the light switch while Jennifer rushed to Aiden's side. He began methodically opening every door he could find, searching for Joe and his mother, already knowing he wouldn't find them.

"He's alive," Jennifer announced after checking Aiden's pulse and breathing. The sheer terror in her voice was palatable. She cradled Aiden's head on her lap and began dabbing at the agent's bloody temple with the towel Steve had procured from the bathroom.

"Careful, Jenn," Steve chided, placing his hand over hers to guide her movements. "Whatever or whoever hit him most likely gave him a concussion."

Aiden began to stir, groaning in pain. He opened one eye slowly, then the other before focusing on Jennifer's face above him. "Nancy…" he moaned.

"What about Nancy? Where are my mother and Joe, Frye?" Steve demanded.

Aiden attempted to sit up, but Jennifer's hands on his shoulders prevented it. "I dunno," he answered, his voice groggy. "He hit me…"

"Who hit you?" Jennifer asked, continuing to dab gently at the wound.

The agent groaned again before answering. "Joe."

TBC…


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N - thank you all so much for the reviews and favorite story alerts. I sincerely appreciate your comments and am so glad you are all enjoying the story! I'm having a blast writing it!

* * *

Steve's brows furrowed in confusion as his eyes met Jennifer's. "J…_Joe_ did this to you?" he stuttered.

The agent tried once again to sit up, this time Jennifer was too dumbstruck to stop him. "Yeah," he answered, pressing the towel she had been cleaning his head wound with to his temple. "He went into the bathroom, came out, said he was sorry and hit me with the butt of his gun."

"Sorry for what?" Steve asked incredulously.

"Gee, McGarrett, I didn't get a chance to ask before he knocked my ass unconscious," Aiden replied sarcastically.

"Well forgive me for not being worried about your ass when my mother is missing," Steve countered angrily.

"Speaking of asses…"

"Stop!" Jennifer yelled, finding her voice finally. She leapt to her feet and began to pace the room. She ran one hand through her auburn locks while the other pressed against her stomach. "This makes no sense. There is no way Joe is involved."

"Jennifer, he knocked me out," Aiden began emphatically, slowly getting up. "He took advantage of the fact that we split up…"

"No," Steve argued. "Joe has been alone with my mom before. Jennifer's right, doesn't make any sense."

Aiden laughed bitterly and threw his arms open. "Does shit like this normally make sense?" he answered. "We have to assume that Joe is delivering Shelburne to Wo Fat."

Jennifer shook her head and turned from them, yanking her cell out of her pocket and dialing.

"No, we do not have to assume that, Frye!" Steve yelled. "Maybe Joe is protecting my mother and knew you were working for Wo Fat."

The agent glared at Steve. "Why would I be working for Wo Fat?"

"Why would Joe?" Steve shot back. He turned to Jennifer, who still had the phone pressed against her ear. He didn't need to ask who she was calling. "Anything?"

She shook her head. "No," she replied, her tone flat and barely above a whisper. He swallowed hard and fought the wave of nausea rising in his throat.

"Okay, they couldn't have gotten off this island without somebody knowing," Steve said. He turned to Aiden, giving the agent a cursory once-over. "You good to go?"

"I'll be fine, just need a weapon," Frye responded.

"No," Steve answered shortly, making a beeline toward the main door of the quarters.

Aiden's eyes went wide at the Commander's dismissal of his request. "No?" he demanded, turning to Jennifer for support.

"Steve," she began before he almost immediately cut her off. "No, Jenn. I trust me, I trust you. I don't trust him. Joe may have hit him because Aiden's the mole. Joe may have hit him because HE is the mole._ Joe_ may not have hit him at all. I'm not putting a gun in his hands until I'm sure."

"Okay," Jennifer replied with a shrug.

"Okay?" Aiden repeated, his eyes wild with anger. "Why am I not surprised you would immediately agree with him?"

"You most likely have a concussion, Aiden," she fired back. "You need to be cleared by a doctor. That's standard protocol."

"Standard protocol is a crap answer in this situation and you know it," Aiden replied with a sneer.

She glared at him and barely nodded her head. "Or you can just stay here," she said, sidling up to Steve, who was already in the hallway, scowling at Aiden with his fists on his hips. "We've got Shelburne to find."

Steve was too angry and too confused by this most recent turn of events to allow his "victory" to be displayed on his face – as much as he'd love nothing more to slug the smug agent, finding his mother and Joe took precedence. He took off down the hall with Jennifer close behind. He didn't bother to look back to see if Aiden Frye was following them.

Outside the barracks, he flagged down a Jeep – pleased to find it was the same MPs who had met them at the air park. "Commander, is there a problem?" the Sergeant asked.

"Yeah," Steve affirmed with a nod, "Commander White and his female companion are missing and the CIA Agent with them was knocked unconscious in the barracks."

The younger MP laughed. "This island is barely 13 square miles. They couldn't have gone far."

Jennifer glowered at the Airman. "My father is a retired Navy SEAL who had hundreds of highly classified missions under his belt before you were even born. _Trust_ me when I tell you he could be in Australia by now."

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied looking properly chastised.

"Hop in," the Sergeant said. "We gotta get back to the airfield."

Steve and Jennifer piled into the Jeep before the Sergeant peeled away in the direction of the runway. He threw the vehicle in neutral just outside the door to the radar tower and stepped on the parking brake. The Sergeant tore the door open and the three began taking the stairs to the top two at a time.

"Airman Davis," he yelled at the young officer manning the tower; then pointed behind him. "Lt. Commander McGarrett, Agent White. Have any aircraft left since their plane landed?"

"No, sir," the Airman answered as he sprang from his chair. "Two flights left earlier though - one 15 minutes before Agent White landed and one two hours before."

"The one 15 minutes before, where is it headed?" Steve demanded.

"Uhhhhh…" He stalled, flipping through a stack of recent flight manifests, "Pearl."

Steve looked at Jennifer. "That's gotta be it."

She nodded. "We need to get to Hawaii."

"I can wake a pilot and have you in the air within an hour," Davis offered.

"Good man," Steve replied, clapping the young serviceman on the back. "Sarge, we need to go back to the barracks and get the other agent."

"Let's roll," the Sergeant replied with a wave of his hand.

The three descended the stairs and the metal door clattered as it hit the concrete tower behind it. The Sergeant had opened the door and allowed Jennifer and Steve to go through first. What they found just outside the door rocked them to the core. The young MP, his body prone, eyes wide open, a bullet hole in his forehead.

"Steve," Jennifer gasped.

He went to reach for her - to angle her body behind his but found himself grasping at air. Aiden Frye had grabbed Jennifer and had the MP's service weapon pressed against her temple.

TBC…


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

Fear. It was an emotion he was familiar with, but squelched when necessary to complete a mission or catch the bad guy. He rarely feared for himself, more than once he'd been ready and willing to sacrifice his life for his country. This time, the terror bubbling up from his stomach to his heart refused to subside and it was a yet unlived life flashing before Steve's eyes instead of his own – his and Jennifer's – their life together.

Steve instinctively trained his gun on Aiden. "Frye, don't do this," Steve nearly begged. "You don't want to hurt her."

_A long white dress…blue hibiscus tucked behind her ear…on Joe's arm coming toward him…_

"Put the gun down, McGarrett," the agent sneered, tightening his arm around Jennifer's neck. She grimaced as her airway constricted.

_Leaning against the doorframe to the lanai as he comes down the stairs…clad in nothing but his favorite Annapolis t-shirt, auburn hair flowing down her back…twirling the gold locket he'd given her for her 21__st__ birthday while watching the waves crashing onto the beach in the early morning sun…_

Steve held up both hands in surrender before bending to place his weapon on the ground.

"Kick it out of reach. You too," Frye ordered the Sergeant behind Steve. The MP did as he was instructed, kicking his weapon to his left near Steve's.

_His hands on her swollen belly…his unborn child kicking at his palms…_

"Aiden," Jennifer began calmly, keeping her eyes locked on Steve's. "Let me go."

"Can't do that, Jenn," Frye said, tightening his grip on her neck, making her whimper in protest. "Joe wasn't supposed to bring him here. McGarrett was never supposed to find Shelburne."

"Your problem is with me, Frye, not her," Steve answered.

_His lips on the soft slope of her neck…her fingers flicking soapy bath water at him while a dark headed toddler giggles…_

Aiden laughed bitterly. "You got that right, Commander. You _and_ Joe. Which is why when the pilot gets here, we're all getting on the plane to Pearl and then, you'll hand Shelburne over to Wo Fat."

"And Joe?" Steve asked, dreading the answer.

A disgusting grin spread across Frye's face. "He's old. Things happen."

"Things happen?" Steve repeated with a knowing smirk. "Like what's happened to the last few Shelburne agents since you came along?"

Aiden shook his head. "Had nothing to do with that. All I want is for Jennifer to finally be able to move on from you. She can't do that when she's protecting Shelburne."

_Fingers intertwined above her head…her eyes locked on his…moaning his name…the arch of her breasts against his chest as she comes undone beneath him…_

"And she's gonna move on with you after you've killed her father, my mother and me, because I'm telling you right now, hell is gonna freeze over before…"

A dark shadow in the corner of his eye distractedly him momentarily. His eyes whipped back to find Aiden's attention focused on locating the source of the blurred movement – no longer focused solely on Jennifer. She must have sensed it as well – Steve saw her thigh rise ever so slightly before the heel of her boot crashed into Aiden's knee. A sickening crack sent the agent hurtling toward the ground howling in pain, but not before Jennifer tossed him over her back, slamming him head first into the asphalt below. She grabbed the gun from his hand and leveled it at his head. Steve was on Frye in an instant, smashing his nose, jaw and eye socket with his fists.

"Steve," Jennifer wailed over the pounding of his heartbeat in his ears, "Stop! He's out". Airman Davis had appeared out of nowhere, pulling on his arms and dragging him away from the unconscious agent. The Sergeant flipped Frye onto his stomach and cuffed him before he could regain consciousness. Steve swiped at his nose and mouth with the back of his hand before kicking Frye in the ribs one final time for good measure. He turned and gathered Jennifer in his arms as a fleet of MP vehicles and an ambulance skidded to a stop in front of them.

Her hands fisted in his shirt and he could feel her fighting the urge to sob into his chest. He held her tight against him, giving them both a chance to slow their breathing and allow the adrenaline to seep from their bodies.

"I knew something was wrong when I didn't hear Sergeant Mathers' vehicle tear out of here like he normally does," the young Airman began to explain. "I snuck down the back staircase and saw what was going down before I radioed for help."

Steve closed his eyes, said a quick prayer of thanks and placed a gentle kiss on the top of Jennifer's head before releasing her with an appreciative laugh. "Good man, Davis. When your tour is over, if you need a job, you look me up, al'ight?"

Davis enthusiastically shook the hand Steve had extended. "I may take you up on that, Commander." He clapped the solider on the shoulder before stepping over to where the ambulance sat with its lights flashing and Jennifer sitting on the bumper having her neck inspected. The Sergeant stood opposite Jennifer, arms crossed over his chest, detailing the wounds Jennifer and Steve had inflicted on his still unconscious prisoner. Steve stretched out his hand again to the Sergeant. "I'd say let's do this again soon," the officer said with a weary laugh.

"Yeah, never again is too soon for me too," Steve agreed with a sad smile. "I'm sorry about your Airman, Sergeant Mathers."

"Yeah," the man replied with a sigh, "thanks. You two have a plane to catch. Good luck finding your parents and keeping them safe."

"I have a feeling we're gonna need it," Steve answered. He turned to the paramedic examining Jennifer. "How is she?" he asked, earning an immediate glare from Jenn.

"She's going to be fine, sir," the paramedic responded. "Neck may be a little sore over the next few days."

"Thanks," Steve said as the man stepped away from Jennifer. He lifted her chin gently and examined her throat, wincing at the bruise already forming on her trachea. "You okay?"

She shook her head softly and looked at him with tears in her eyes. "No," she answered quietly.

He longed to take the sadness from her eyes. "Yeah, me either," he finally said.

As promised, Davis had them in the air on their way to Oahu within an hour. After takeoff, Steve found Jennifer sitting on a container in the cargo hold of the plane facing away from him. He crept up behind her and hopped onto the top of the box before straddling her hips with his legs, effectively locking her in. He snaked his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "There's no way you could have known, Jenn," he said quietly.

"It's my job to know, Steve. To flush out threats to Shelburne," she argued. "You knew."

Steve scoffed. "Hey, I didn't like the guy the minute he touched you. It's safe to say my opinion of him was slightly skewed."

She closed her eyes and leaned back against him. "Joe knew."

"Yeah, well, your dad's not…human," Steve said with a grin, earning a soft laugh from Jennifer. She turned slightly in his arms, her face just millimeters from his. He couldn't focus on anything but the soft swell of her bottom lip as she spoke. "The same could be said of you, Super SEAL."

His heart pounded heavily in his chest as he closed the excruciating space separating her lips from his. She sucked in a breath when his nose brushed hers and he took advantage, capturing the torturous bottom lip with his own. The kiss was gentle, full of hope and laced with promise. He nuzzled his nose against hers again as he pulled away. "You can't say that meant nothing," he whispered.

"No," she answered with a slight shake of her head. She reached up to touch his chin and angle his mouth to hers again.

TBC…


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

Danny stood leaning against Steve's dark blue truck when they exited the cargo plane that had flown them to Pearl. Steve was a step behind Jennifer with his hand pressed to the small of her back. He watched as Danny shook his head in dismay as they moved toward him.

"I swear to God, Steven," Danny began, throwing his previously crossed arms open, "I honestly don't know whether to smack you or hug you."

"I should smack _you_ for driving my truck," Steve countered. "What the hell, man?"'

Danny's face split into a wide grin. "So, lemme get this straight – your truck is your truck, and _my_ car is your car? Here I thought I was being a nice guy for not making you shoe-horn your Herculean frame into the back seat of the Camaro."

"What makes you think _I'm_ going to sit in the back?" Steve asked curiously, returning his partner's grin.

"Because you know me well enough to know there is no way I am making a woman who looks like _that_ sit in the back," he answered, extending his hand to Jennifer. "I'm Danny, by the way, Danny Williams."

"Nice to finally meet you," she replied with a chuckle.

"And very, very nice to meet you," Danny answered, still clasping Jennifer's hand and making what could best be described as goo-goo eyes at her.

Steve's fists flew to his hips and he stared incredulously between them. "You two maybe wanna get a room or something?"

Danny released Jennifer's hand and glared at Steve. "That, right there, is another reason your ass is sitting in back."

"Need I remind you it's my truck?" Steve barked.

"Need I remind you that _I_ have the keys?" Danny stated as he yanked the driver's side door open.

Steve rolled his head on his shoulders as Danny slid behind the wheel and walked Jennifer over to the passenger side. He opened the door for her and waved his hand for her to get in. "I'll sit in the back, Steve," she offered with a bemused smirk.

"Hell no," he replied. "I'd never hear the end of it from Danny."

She patted his cheek affectionately with a snicker that made him groan and climbed into the truck. Steve shut the door for her before opening the back door of the truck cab and tossing Jennifer's backpack inside.

He settled down onto the bench in the center to keep an eye on his partner while Danny pulled away from the runway.

"So, whadda ya know, whadda we got?" He asked, resting his forearms on the backs of the front seats.

"Last contact from Joe was a little over 7 hours ago now. He said there was a 'complication' and that he'd call when it was safe," Danny explained. "Phone traced to Wake Island; then went totally off the grid."

"What about the cargo plane from Wake that landed here two hours ago?" Jennifer questioned.

Danny nodded. "I had the same thought. Came here, waited for the plane – no Joe, no McMom. I questioned the pilot and if there were stowaways on his plane, it was news to him."

"Speaking of off the grid, Danno," Steve began before Danny raised a hand to cut him off.

"Way ahead of you, babe," he replied, reaching for a yellow bag on the floorboard. "Pre-paid phones, paid for with cash, completely untraceable for our unit and Jennifer."

"Excellent," Steve said, taking the bag from Danny and pulling out one of the phone boxes.

"Chin has the scrambler thing going so anyone trying to listen in to conversations in the office gets an earful of squealing," the detective continued. "I figure there's stuff you guys need that needs to be nine thousand percent secure."

"I'll have to call in to Langley and give them the IP address for your server before I try to access my files or all hell will break loose," Jennifer said, taking a phone from Steve.

"The only part of that I understood was 'all hell will break loose'," Danny replied with a grin. "But repeat that server crap to Chin and you'll be in business."

He angled into a spot just outside the main entry to the 5-0 headquarters and engaged the parking brake. Steve hopped out of the back with a cursory scan of the parking lot and adjacent buildings before opening Jennifer's door for her. When he attempted to situate her body in between his and Danny's, she stomped on his foot and glared at him when he roughly swallowed an obscenity. "_Not_ a china doll, Steve," she muttered under her breath before stalking into the building ahead of him. The exchange sent Danny into a fit of laughter. "I am in_ love_ with that woman," he announced as he crossed the building threshold before the door slammed behind him.

Steve took a moment to compose himself before entering the building, kicking at a concrete support out of frustration. "McMom?" he demanded, finally stepping into the 5-0 office.

"Catch up, will ya babe?" Danny answered with a smirk. "That was, like, 10 minutes ago."

Jennifer was standing at the SmartTable with Chin, Kono and Danny. Kono was punching in a phone number Jennifer was rattling off. Chin was scribbling a bunch of numbers on a strip of paper, presumably the office's IP address for Jennifer. Five minutes later, Jennifer logged in to the secure server at Langley to access her Shelburne files. "Joe is going to stick to places he knows," she explained, "tossing" a list from the SmartTable with a flick of her fingers. "These are all of the locations Joe moved Shelburne agents to in the past."

"That is a long list," Danny said with a shake of his head.

"Taking out safe houses that are no longer active and compromised locations, we are left with..." she continued, typing quickly on the keyboard, "these."

"Still a long list," Kono sighed.

"Does that list figure in Hiro Noshimuri's properties, Jenn?" Steve asked.

"Some of them," she answered. "Others are in the compromised list, like the village house and Laguna de Bay property."

Steve scratched at his beard as he examined the list. "It's gonna be someplace Joe can stay in control. Somewhere easily defended with a minimal threat to civilians. They have to be on this island, but where?"

Jennifer's fingers zeroed in on a location. She circled it and tossed a picture onto the screen. "Mokoto's house," she said quietly. Steve sighed and nodded his agreement.

TBC…


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N – I absolutely love Steve and Danny's relationship. They pick at each other constantly without it being malicious. It's just dang FUNNY. Even though the situation our 5-0ers find themselves in is really stressful, I just don't think they'd really lose the teasing. I hope I'm able to do their quips and barbs justice.

* * *

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "How are we gonna get anywhere near Mokoto's without announcing to Wo Fat and his minions we think Joe is there?"

"I am open to ideas," Steve answered with a sigh.

"Utility services are out, the house has been unoccupied since Mokoto's death," Kono stated.

"No reason for HPD or the crime scene units to go in either," Chin added.

"Real estate agent." Jennifer offered. "House finally going on the market."

Both Steve and Danny whipped their heads around to face her. "That's good," Danny said with a surprised expression. "That's genius, actually."

Jennifer narrowed her eyes at him. "This is not my first rodeo, Cowboy."

Danny turned to Steve with a mischievous grin. "I'm probably gonna ask her to marry me, Brah. I'm just warning you."

Steve scoffed at Danny's threat and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, good luck with that. What do you need, Jenn?"

"Cover story, car, place to live and a bottle of hair dye," she stated easily.

"No," Steve countered.

"No?" Jennifer repeated angrily.

"No, no hair dye, we'll get you a wig." Steve answered with a shrug.

"Do _not_ make me play the 'I so far outrank you card', McGarrett," she replied through gritted teeth.

Danny leaned against the Smart Table and started laughing while Chin and Kono desperately tried to swallow their grins. "I am so in love with her, Steven," Danny stated breathlessly.

Steve leveled a glare at Danny before focusing his attention back on Jennifer. He held up one hand in surrender. "Sweetheart, all I mean is please don't color your hair. I love your hair the way it is."

Both Chin and Kono's eyes went wide with shock at Steve's admission. A grin tugged at the corner of Jennifer's mouth before she sighed. "Fine, since you asked nicely."

Chin shook his head and reached for his wallet, procuring a hundred dollar bill. He handed it to Danny, who accepted it eagerly. Danny smacked a kiss on the paper before stuffing it into his shirt pocket. He turned to find Jennifer and Steve staring at him with their mouths agape. "What?" he asked curiously.

Steve started to speak before glaring at Danny again. "So Chin, cover story, Danno, place to live and car and Kono…"

"Lemme guess…wig?" she replied with a grin. "White blonde, dirty blonde, honey brown or brunette?"

"Blonde," Steve said.

"Brunette," Jennifer answered simultaneously.

Kono laughed and began walking backward out of the offices. "Just let me know when you work it out, okay, Boss?"

"Yeah," Steve replied sarcastically.

"And what will you two lovebirds be doing while the rest of us are working?" Danny asked curiously, waving a hand between the two.

"Sleeping, Daniel," Steve answered irritably.

Danny swallowed the smirk threatening to erupt on his face. "That what the kids are calling it these days?"

"I haven't slept in like 3 days, man," Steve started before Jennifer cut him off by sidling up to Danny and leaning in. "Danny," she purred, "you should know I only have eyes for you."

She stepped away from the dazed and utterly speechless detective with a smirk and used her thumb and forefinger to take the crisp twenty dollar bill Steve was holding out between his fingers with a wide grin set on his face.

"What?" he asked innocently when his stunned best friend looked over at him.

* * *

Steve shut the front door of his home with a sigh and slid the dead bolt into place. He'd been outside with the first unit of the HPD Swat team assigned to protect them, discussing roof lines and evasion tactics. With walkie-talkie in hand, he went in search of Jennifer, finding her standing at the open door of the lanai watching the waves crashing into the shore, just like in his vision. He smiled and stepped up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist.

"I'd forgotten how beautiful it is here," she said softly, resting her arms over his.

"View's better from the bedroom upstairs," he answered easily, tucking his head into the crook of her shoulder.

Jennifer laughed lightly and turned in his arms, snaking her arms around his neck. "Steve," she began. He silenced her with a gentle kiss.

"I know what you're going to say, Jenn, 'we're not there yet'." She nodded in agreement.

"And in normal circumstances, you'd be right," he continued. "But nothing about this is normal. We're not supposed to be fearing for our lives, for our parents' lives. All this time, I thought you left me because you didn't love me..."

"Steve," she said again with a dismayed shake of her head.

"But," he continued despite her protest, "I know now that wasn't the case. You loved me enough to sacrifice yourself to protect my mom. I've been without you for almost 10 years Jenn. I'm _done_ being separated from you."

He brushed the tears cascading down her porcelain cheeks with the pad of his thumb. He captured her chin and tilted her head up toward his before lowering his lips down on hers. He pulled her closer to him with the hand around her waist and slid the other into her hair as he deepened the kiss. She moaned when his tongue slid against hers and pressed her hand to the back of his neck. He smiled against her mouth and began trailing his lips down the column of her neck, nipping and sucking at the soft flesh, tightening his grip on her as she squirmed in his embrace.

"Steve," she said breathlessly.

"Hm?" he muttered, locating the hollow spot just behind her ear with his lips. Her back arched against him as he attacked the spot he knew drove her wild. He felt a delicious tightening in his groin when her firm stomach rubbed against him.

"What about Catherine?" she finally asked.

Steve groaned and rested his forehead on her shoulder. He knew the subject was going to come up; he just didn't want to deal with it _now_, not with Jennifer so invitingly warm, supple and completely intoxicating in his arms.

"Catherine will understand," he answered with closed eyes, using the tip of his nose to nudge the wide neck of Jennifer's pink top and the strap of the tank beneath it away from the skin he craved. He begrudgingly pulled away for a moment to gaze directly into Jennifer's jade colored eyes. "She lost the man she loved when his plane was shot down over Afghanistan," he quietly began to explain. "She understood what it was like for me to lose you. If she had the chance to have him back, even for a moment, she'd take it."

Jennifer didn't respond verbally. Her mouth broke into a gentle smile before she used her hand on the back of his neck as leverage to crash her lips onto his. "Let's go to bed," Steve invited between kisses.

"Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" she teased.

He smacked a kiss onto her lips before answering. "I will call it whatever you want as long it gets you upstairs and naked."

TBC…


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N – Sorry guys, I don't write smut. I'd like to, and I've tried, but it never comes out as good on paper as it does in my imagination.

* * *

Steve woke hours later to early evening sunlight seeping through the plantation shutters in his room. He stretched his tired muscles and rolled onto his side to cuddle into Jennifer, surprised to find the bed empty. "Jenn?" he called out. Not receiving an answer, he sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He glanced around the room, finally finding his pants hanging precariously from the footboard, haphazardly discarded in his quest to get them naked as quickly as possible. He jumped into his pants and tugged into a t-shirt before opening the bedroom door. His nose immediately zeroed in on a delicious smell wafting up the staircase from the kitchen.

"You better have pants on Casanova," Danny yelled after hearing him on the stairs. "Cause Jennifer is _not_ the only one here."

Steve continued to follow the enticing smell and found Jennifer in the kitchen with a wooden spoon in her hand, stirring the contents of the wok currently situated on the stove. "Appropriate enough for you, Daniel?" he asked, waving a hand over his shirt and pants.

He crossed over to Jennifer and circled his arms around her hips, immediately attacking the soft skin of her neck, now in full view thanks to a messy ponytail. She was wearing another of his t-shirts and a pair of his pajama pants cinched tightly at her waist. Ignoring Danny's taunt of "Now _that _is not appropriate", he asked, "What smells so good?"

Jennifer scooped a small amount into at the spoon and turned in Steve's arms to raise it to his mouth. "Drunken stir fry beef with green beans and peppers," she answered as he took the bite she offered. He moaned appreciatively as flavors began exploding in his mouth.

"She had me at 'drunken'", Danny said with a laugh.

Steve dropped a kiss on Jennifer's lips before releasing her and turning to his partner. "She had me eighteen years ago at 'hi'", he countered. He opened the cabinet and took down three plates, then procured forks from the silverware drawer. "What no chopsticks?" Danny teased when Steve passed him the plates.

Steve scoffed at the suggestion. "I've seen you with chopsticks, my friend. It's not pretty. I'd hate for you to ruin your reputation with Jenn."

"Right," Danny muttered under his breath, taking the plates and silverware into the dining room. Steve opened the fridge and pulled out a beer for himself before joining them. Jennifer dropped a pot holder onto the table and rested the wok on top. She gingerly heaped large scoopfuls of the stir fry onto the guys' waiting plates.

As they dug into the food, Danny opened a file. "So, Chin was able to find an officer whose wife is a real estate agent. And as luck would have it, she's actually been interviewing assistants, but hasn't hired anybody yet. So, you go in as her assistant tomorrow morning."

"Nice," Jennifer said eagerly, accepting a sheet from Danny that contained the agent's photo and bio information.

"Your first order of business is to take pictures for her new listing, Mokoto's house," Danny explained. "And I found you an apartment in the building next to mine. Fully furnished. It's not much, but if I can afford it, then so can a previously unemployed real estate assistant who just moved to the island."

"Car?" Steve asked with his mouth full.

Danny shook his head with dismay and turned to Jennifer. "You really sure you want to be with this Neanderthal?"

"I'm sure," she answered with a grin, popping a bite into her own mouth.

Danny shook his head again before continuing. "We decided on Public Transit. All the money went to the apartment, nothing left over for a car. You'll take the agent's car to take pictures at Mokoto's tomorrow. And," he sighed dramatically, whipping a honey blonde wig out of a bag, "since you two couldn't agree, Kono went right down the middle on the color."

Jennifer took the wig and plopped it on her head. "What do you think, babe?"

Steve made a disapproving face. "I'm glad it's a wig." She laughed and discarded it on the table.

"Great job, Danny, really," Jennifer said enthusiastically.

"Well, thank you. I had help," he replied. "And after this wonderful dinner, I am going home to sleep and you two can go back to doing _whatever_ and I'll be here in the morning to take Jennifer to the bus station."

Following Danny's departure, Steve shooed Jennifer from the kitchen to clean up, arguing that if she did the cooking, he'd do the cleaning. He'd watched through the kitchen window as she stepped out onto the lanai and slowly drifted toward the water.

He flopped on to the sand beside her and twisted the cap off a bottle of beer before handing it to her. "I've been working on your backstory," he said quietly before taking a swig of his beer.

"Your team already did that," she reminded him.

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but there's a hole in the story that's bothering me. Why would this Amy move to the island in the first place?"

"Change of scenery, new opportunities," Jennifer stated with a shrug.

"Or," Steve replied, digging in to his pocket. "She's engaged to a sailor."

Jennifer's eyes went wide when she saw what Steve was holding between this thumb and forefinger. Her face drained of color and tears clouded her eyes. "Steve, no," she said emphatically, shaking her head and turning her face from him.

"Hey," he said gently, using his other hand to turn her face back toward him. "Look at me," he gently ordered. When she finally complied, he smiled at her and brushed the tears streaming down her face with the pad of his thumb. "I'm not asking you to marry me, Jenn. We've got plenty of time for that. But when you leave here tomorrow, I'm going to be just a voice in your head. I want you to have something of _ours_ with you so you'll remember that we are in this together."

He slid the white gold solitaire over the knuckle on her left ring finger. "And we'll come out of it together."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Steve didn't miss how her hand trembled violently in his. She blew the breath out slowly before finding his eyes again. "Okay," she said finally.

"Okay," he answered with a laugh, pulling her on top of him and lying back onto the sand before crashing his lips on hers.

TBC…


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

Jennifer eased the gold Lexus RX bearing her new "boss's" face and contact information up the driveway to Mokoto's home. She knocked twice on the door before brandishing a lock pick, which was small enough that, to any observers, would look like a key as Jennifer quickly picked the lock. She swung the door open and announced herself using her Cover IDs name before crossing the threshold into the home.

Steve rolled the kinks out of his neck while he listened to Jennifer snap photos and look for any signs of occupancy. "Anything?" he asked.

"Not so far," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear via her ear piece.

"CSU reports a steel door down a staircase to the left of the kitchen," he replied. "Required a code that no one could find."

Jennifer made her way into the kitchen with her camera. Steve could hear movement that didn't sound anything like her flipping a light switch and descending a staircase. "What _are_ you doing?"

"Staging," she answered quietly.

"Staging what?" Danny asked with a frown.

"The kitchen for pictures," Jennifer replied under breath. "I get the feeling I'm being watched."

Steve groaned loudly and fought the urge to abandon the van he and Danny had stationed down the hill from Mokoto's to rush in and protect her. "Neanderthal," he heard her snicker affectionately.

They heard the camera shutter snap several more times before Jennifer made her way over to the stairwell. She flipped on the light and took the stairs carefully in the 4 inch platform heels she was wearing. Knowing she was out of sight to anyone observing her through the windows, she spoke louder. "Keypad has blood on it," she said.

Steve scanned the CSU report for any notation of blood. "Nothing in the report, Jenn. Can you get a sample?"

"Already done, _dear_," she answered in a sarcastic, sing-songy voice.

"I am truly, madly, deeply in love with that woman, babe." Danny laughed.

"I am aware of that, Daniel," Steve said with an irritated sigh.

They could hear the keypad binging, then buzzing. "What numbers are you trying?" Steve asked curiously.

"So far…the date Pearl was bombed, the 9 July date…"

"Try the date my mom died," Steve offered. He held his breath as Jennifer punched in the digits.

"That was it," Jennifer confirmed over the sound of locks disengaging. He could hear her pull her gun from the holster under her jacket. She slowly opened the door and announced herself again with her cover name. She stepped into the room and felt along the wall for a light switch. The unmistakable sound of a gun cocking stopped her hand right along with Steve's heart. "Dad?" she whispered quietly.

"Jennifer?" came the startled reply.

Steve let out the breath he'd been holding and relaxed into his seat.

"Good job, kids," he heard Joe's voice through Jennifer's ear piece as he hugged his daughter. "Good job."

Steve heard Jennifer kiss his mother's cheek and his heart rate slowed knowing they were both okay. "You need to get out of here," Joe said. "Someone tried that keypad yesterday. Wo Fat already suspects we're here, we sure as hell don't need to confirm it. Nice hair, by the way."

Steve chuckled despite himself. "Tell Joe we'll start working on a plan to get him and Mom out of there safely."

Jennifer relayed the message and Steve could picture Joe nodding his approval. "Fine, that's fine. Until then we're safe here. Mokoto left me detailed instructions for changing the code. Nancy and I have been working on three totally random codes. Keep this with you," he said, handing Jennifer a slip of paper. "The display in here shows us what numbers are being entered on the panel out there. If Wo Fat didn't know yesterday that Doris McGarrett is Nancy Sheldon, he does now. I'm going to change the code as soon as you leave.

"Now get out of here. The house is under surveillance and you've been down here long enough to peak their radar." Steve heard Joe envelop his daughter in another hug. "Keep her safe, son," he whispered into Jennifer's ear.

"Will do, Joe," Steve replied under his breath.

He could hear the unsteady breath Jennifer blew out as the heavy metal door shut and the locks re-engaged. He knew better than to speak again until she was ready. He was content to listen to the sound of her heels on the staircase and how the sound transitioned to clacks as she ventured out onto the tile floor of the kitchen again. She went about her business, staging and photographing each room for the "listing" before she returned to the kitchen with a notebook binder and a cup full of pens, several of which disguised tiny microphones that would allow Jennifer and the 5-0 team to hear if anyone else entered the home.

She stood in front of the large window in the home's sitting room and made a production of flipping through the photos on the digital camera before exiting and locking the home up, placing a secure, albeit empty, lockbox on the door.

Steve heard the Lexus roar to life before he spoke again. "Why do you think you were being watched?" he asked gently.

Jennifer scoffed indelicately. "Why do you think I wasn't?"

He laughed. "I didn't say you weren't, I just asked why you thought you were being watched."

"Same reason I can tell I have a tail. I'm just _that_ good."

Steve's fingers sprung into action at her words, tapping furiously on the computer tablet on his lap to access the HPD's vehicle database. "What kind of car?"

"Midnight blue, late model Charger. Plate number is MRX-201."

Steve typed quickly, bobbing his head to either side. "Probably come back as stolen, but..." He froze as the result appeared on his screen. Danny craned his neck to see the screen. "What the..." the detective said, too stunned to finish the question.

"Steve?" Jennifer asked quietly.

"It's a government vehicle, Jenn. Department on record is Homeland Security."

TBC...


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N - thank you all so much for your thoughts and kind words following the loss of my grandmother. It really means a lot to me.

* * *

"Homeland Security claims no knowledge of an investigation into Mokoto, his house, his companies, etc, etc, etc…" Kono explained to the assembled team before letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Of course, because verifying what we already _know_ would be entirely too easy," Danny replied with a roll of his eyes.

"The Charger followed Jennifer back to the office, was replaced within an hour by a different vehicle that followed Jennifer to her cover apartment. That vehicle was swapped out for another and still they sit," Steve said with an annoyed wave of his hand. "What the hell are they waiting for?"

"Maybe they're really not looking into Mokoto, Steve," Chin offered. "Maybe it's Joe, or your mom or even Jennifer."

Steve shook his head and groaned. "We can't ask Homeland Security about any of them without blowing the investigation we've got going." He crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his head around his neck, working out the rapidly forming kinks. "I'm going over there."

"What?" Danny exclaimed. "You can't go over there! You'll blow her cover."

"I'll sneak in," Steve countered. Danny scoffed at the suggestion. "What?"

"You gonna break out the camo, babe? Or maybe take your shirt off…"

"Take my shirt off?" Steve bellowed, his eyes wide with shock.

"Or drop a tear gas grenade through the skylight?" the detective continued.

"I'm a frikkin' Navy SEAL, Daniel! I can sneak into my fiancée's apartment without being noticed," Steve argued.

"Your _fiancée_?" Danny asked with a knowing grin. "I must have missed when the _ex_-future-Mrs. Super SEAL became the _current_-future-Mrs. Super SEAL. So that _was_ an engagement ring on Jenn's finger when I picked her up this morning?"

Steve glanced around at the rest of team and was met Kono and Chin's astonished stares and Danny's maddening smirk. "Okay," he conceded with a sigh. "Yes, Jennifer is wearing the engagement ring I gave her eleven years ago. No, I have not asked her to marry me. I thought it was good for her cover."

"Uh-huh," Danny replied skeptically.

"Wait," Steve answered as a grin slowly began to form, "Are you mad I didn't tell you about the ring?"

"Am I mad?" Danny repeated angrily. "Yes, I'm mad! I'm your partner, your best friend…"

"So, I should consult you before I propose?" Steve attempted to clarify. "Am I asking _you_ to marry me or her?"

"There is something seriously the matter with you!" Danny yelled.

Chin held up a hand. "Enough, ladies! Steve, I believe you were going to the cover apartment to get a look at the Homeland Security officers."

"Yes, Chin," Steve answered with a toothy grin. "That is exactly what I was going to do before Mr. Ergo here went off on another tangent about civilized society."

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes. "I hate you so much right now…"

Steve parked the Marquis several blocks from the cover apartment before setting out on foot. It was a nice night, the moon high in the sky, a gentle breeze blowing in off the ocean. He wore a light blue polo and jeans instead of his usual cargos. The only other concession to concealing his identity was a ball cap. In a residential area, he didn't want to don dark clothes and keep his cap down over his eyes. That would have attracted attention he didn't want.

He opened the back gate leading to a small courtyard at the rear of the cover apartment, making a mental note to remind Jennifer to keep the gate locked. He took out his lock pick set and set to work on the back door after quickly checking the lock. The door opened easily and he was caught off guard by voices – two female, one male. He crept through the kitchen and hid behind a doorway leading into the living room. "I know you're there, Steve," Jennifer called out.

He groaned softly and shook his head before revealing himself. "Keep the back gate locked, Jenn! What if I was…" The rest of the admonishment died on his lips as he caught sight of wavy dark blonde hair. His stomach turned in apprehension. "Lori?"

She spun around to face him. "Hi, Steve," she said uneasily.

"What…" he stammered, completely caught off guard. "What are you doing here?"

Jennifer and the male officer with Lori glanced awkwardly between the two. The former colleagues kept staring at each other until the male officer coughed. The moment broken, Lori's eyes flew to her partner. "Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett, this is my partner, Mike Brady."

Steve shook the hand Brady had offered before turning back to the blonde. "You didn't answer my question. Why are you here, Lori?"

"Homeland Security & Naval Intelligence have been running a joint op for the past three months out of Coronado," she began to explain, taking a file out of a bag she had draped on one of Jennifer's kitchen chairs. She handed the file to Steve, who began to flip through it quickly. "Lots of chatter about a high ranking U.S. official and Wo Fat. Needless to say, that caught my attention, and I asked to be placed on the team."

"This high ranking official – CIA? Naval Intell? What?" Steve questioned.

"That's what we don't know," Lori replied. "I never fully understood your connection to Hideki Mokoto, but when his house suddenly came on the market, it peaked my interest."

Steve took a deep breath and shook his head. "Who knows you're here, Lori?"

"My boss and 3 others who helped us switch out the surveillance vehicles," the blonde replied.

"Ok," Steve said with a nod. "Give me their names." He handed the file back to Lori before turning his attention to Jennifer. "We're gonna have to vet the hell out of these people."

"What exactly are you looking for?" Agent Brady asked curiously.

Steve regarded the agent with disdain. "You'll have to forgive me if I don't answer that question until after you've been cleared."

Brady looked ready to argue the point, but a glare from Lori and a discreet shake of her head made him think again. He finally offered Steve a defeated "okay."

Lori scratched a number onto a piece of paper and handed it to Steve. "If I can help in any way, call me."

"I will," Steve answered quickly, reaching to take the paper, fully intending to trash it the minute she was gone. Lori kept her grip on the alternate end and let out an indelicate snort. "Promise me, Steve."

The Commander rolled his eyes and leveled a glare at her. "Fine, I promise." Lori eyed him suspiciously but finally released the paper. She retrieved her bag from the chair and turned to Jennifer. "Agent White, it was nice to meet you. I hope we get the chance to work together in the future."

"Yep," Jennifer answered. She waited until Lori and the agent had disappeared out the front door. "Old girlfriend?"

Steve groaned and reached for Jennifer, pulling her into his arms. "No," he answered honestly. "There were some feelings there, but no. Governor Denning assigned her to my team; then un-assigned her."

"Hey, did you drive the Marquis over here?" she asked with a sly grin, tipping her chin up to his face.

"I did," he replied, lowering his mouth down to hers, barely grazing her lips with his own, "you wanna go for a ride?"

Jennifer brushed her nose against his. "Depends. Does the ride involve hot…" she said before pausing to capture his lips with hers briefly, "sweaty…back-seat sex?"

He growled a reply and reached down to pick Jennifer up by the backs of her thighs. She secured her legs around his waist and he collided with the closest vertical surface. He attacked her mouth, swallowing her moan by kissing her deeper, squeezing her backside with his hands, causing her to squirm against him. He groaned again at the friction before pulling away only slightly to whisper in her ear. "I don't think we'd make it to the car."

TBC...


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

He woke to the sound of fingernails clicking against a keyboard. He turned on his side, fully intending to wrap his arm around Jennifer's waist, but found his progress impeded by a large and very warm laptop situated on the tops of her comforter-covered thighs. She wasn't naked anymore either, something he planned to remedy as quickly as possible. His eyes drifted from the snug black tank top concealing the skin he craved, up her arm to her face. He couldn't help but snicker at the pen between her teeth and the glasses perched on the edge of her nose. "When did you start wearing glasses?" he asked curiously.

"When I got old," she answered immediately, not bothering to take the pen out of her mouth.

He scoffed at the answer and reached to take the pen out of her mouth. "Adorable, yes, old no," he countered. "You've got a 'sexy teacher thing' going on right now." Steve took one finger and hooked it under her chin, attempting to turn her face toward him so he could kiss her. Jennifer resisted and kept looking at the computer screen and typing while her head moved closer to his, muttering "hang on…"

"Rule #1," he stated, brushing his nose against hers when she finally turned her face toward him, "no Super Spy or Super SEAL work in bed."

"Rule #1 is going to have to wait until our parents are safe and sound, Steve," she countered before smacking a kiss on his lips and returning her focus back to the screen.

"Rule #2," he said with a chuckle while collapsing back onto his pillow, "no mentioning said parents while we're naked."

"Agreed," Jennifer answered, her fingers still typing furiously.

"What _are_ you doing?" Steve asked.

She turned to him with a sly grin and shook her head. "Can't tell you that till you put some pants on, Commander."

He scratched at his chest and groaned. "You see what I did there? Walked head-first into my own stupid rule."

"Yup," she answered, popping the 'p'.

"You really gonna make me put pants on?" he questioned.

"Nah, I get pretty turned on when you break the rules," she replied with a smirk.

"Oh really? He said sitting up again, and brushing her hair away from her shoulder with his fingers. "That's info I'll definitely file away for later."

He rested his chin on her shoulder. "So, what are you working on?"

"Well, I started working on an extraction plan for Mom and Joe. But then, I took another look at Agent Weston's notes and I found this," she explained, picking up the file lying on the bed beside her. When he didn't take the file from her, she turned to look at him and found him staring back at her with an adorably goofy smile set on his lips. "What?"

"You said 'Mom'. Not 'your Mom', not Doris or Nancy, just 'Mom'."

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, habit."

Steve shook his head slowly. "No, I like it. Nine and a half years, she's been the closest thing you've had to a mother. God knows Joe's been a second father to me." He pressed a gentle kiss on her cheek before returning his chin to her shoulder. "So, you were working on a plan for Mom and Joe when…"

"I found this," she interjected, pointing to a name in the file she still held in her hands.

"Robert Hillman?" Steve asked; his eyes wide.

"Yes," Jennifer answered seriously.

"_Senator_ Robert Hillman?"

"Yes," she repeated. "But more importantly, he was also the very young Chief of Staff to the US Ambassador to Japan in..."

"Lemme guess, 1974?" Steve asked with a groan.

Jennifer nodded. "Hillman apparently sat in the briefings with the Ambassador regarding Operation Orosu. The notations are clear in Agent Weston's file. But every file, every note I've ever looked at, there is no mention of Hillman."

"Maybe Lori made a mistake?" Steve offered.

"I don't think so. It'd be S.O.P. for the Chief of Staff to be included in the briefings, especially since the operation took place on Japanese soil. Hillman should have been the point man to coordinate with the Japanese officials. But every notation says it was Ambassador Tiner, _not_ Hillman."

Steve scratched at his beard and blew out a breath. "You clear Tiner?"

"Tiner and Hillman were _both_ cleared during the investigation after first Shelburne agent was murdered. Hillman claimed absolutely no knowledge of Operation Orosu. He said he was on vacation and there was nothing in the CIA notes to refute the claim," Jennifer explained.

"Do you know where Hillman is campaigning right now?" he asked.

Jennifer nodded affirmatively, "East coast."

Steve looked at his watch. "Well, it's 5:28 a.m. there. Even if he's awake, his staff will be pretty pissed if we call this early. I'll have Kono set up a video conference."

Jennifer grudgingly agreed. "Jenn, you need to get some sleep," he said, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. "When was the last time you got a full 8?"

She groaned. "Day before I was read into this nightmare?" she answered sarcastically, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes with her free hand.

He didn't respond verbally. Instead he used two fingers to punch the control and s key on her keyboard, saving the file she was working on. Then he closed the laptop lid and turned to rest it on the nightstand beside him. As he turned back to Jennifer, he circled his arms around her and pulled her down on the pillow with him, snuggling in to her back. Her hands rested on top of his arms. "Do me a favor," he softly commanded. "Look at that ring on your finger."

He could sense more than see her smile. "Tell me what it means," he said quietly.

"That you and I are in this together," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

"You don't have to do this alone anymore, Jenn…"

She turned in his arms, rested her hands on his chest and regarded him seriously. "Are you sure about all this, Steve? It hasn't even been a week and we're sleeping together, I'm wearing my ring again. It's just all so…"

"Do you want us to slow down?" he asked, realizing he was honestly terrified of her answer.

"No," she said quickly, her voice trembling, "I don't know, maybe, I just…"

Steve's fingers tangled in her hair and he slowly rubbed his fingers at her scalp, encouraging her to continue.

"I told you so many lies, so many stories that were half-truths at _best_ – where I was, why I was there, that crap about the intelligence officer I supposedly left you for. God, I don't even remember half of the excuses I came up with for why I couldn't see you, why I didn't answer my phone…"

"You're adorable when you ramble, you know that?" he chuckled. She settled two fingers over his lips to force him to stop talking.

"I'm sorry, Steve," she said honestly, freshly formed tears stinging her eyes. "I'm sorry for everything. Do you remember when I was supposed to come visit you over Christmas?"

"Right before I got the letter, yeah," he answered.

She took a deep breath before continuing. "I was going to tell you about the Agency then. Full disclosure, or as close to full disclosure as they'd let me get. Two days before I was supposed to leave, my dad shows up on my doorstep and tries to talk me out of continuing to look Shelburne. He told me he wouldn't be able to protect me, but I couldn't stop."

"Sweetheart," he said, cutting her off, "I know. Joe tried to protect both of us. I didn't listen either. Joe said something to Adam Noshimuri that really stuck with me. He said that Hiro had to make a choice – tell Adam the truth and risk his life, or tell him a lie and keep him safe. Hiro chose the lie and Joe said that he'd chosen wisely. I don't have to like the lies, but I understand why you and Joe and Mom told them. There are things, _despite_ your security clearance; I will never be able to tell you."

He rolled Jennifer onto her back and settled his body between her legs, "You did everything you could to keep me safe. And I may argue with you till the day we die that I didn't need protecting; but, I love you even more for it."

Her hands trailed up his chest before circling his neck. "You know your mother wants grandchildren, like, yesterday, right?"

Steve leaned in and whispered in Jennifer's ear, "I have no problem telling her we're practicing…a lot."

TBC…


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

Steve and Jennifer paced the floor of Steve's office in parallel patterns, wearing treads in the hardwood and stretching Danny's patience well past the breaking point. "Could you two stop, please?" he asked, his voice thin with irritation. "Taking the finish off the floor will not make this go any faster."

Jennifer ran her hands down the front of her jeans before collapsing into one of the guest chairs. She rested her head on the back and stared at the ceiling. Steve, however, kept up the pacing and added chewing on his thumbnail. The extraction of Joe and Doris was taking place and neither the Commander nor the CIA Agent was taking being sidelined very well. Movers had been hired by the real estate agent Jennifer was "working" for. They were tasked with moving a number of large items from Mokoto's residence, including two carefully disguised pieces of furniture housing Joe and Doris. The movers would deliver the items to a gated, climate controlled storage facility where the agent, Naomi and her HPD officer husband would "review" the contents and get Joe and Doris safely to HPD headquarters. The moving truck was currently en route to the storage facility.

"So, how long have Joe and your mom been together?" Danny asked curiously in an almost desperate attempt to change the subject.

Steve's pacing stopped and the glare he leveled at his best friend and partner could have been enough to kill him immediately. "How long have they _what_?" he demanded.

"Been together, involved, sleeping together, whatever?" Danny answered, his voice raising a decibel to match Steve's. He stared at his partner before throwing his hands up in the air. "W-why do you have aneurysm face?"

"I do not have aneurysm face!" Steve countered. He turned to Jennifer. "Back me up here."

She rolled her eyes. "You totally have aneurysm face."

"That's_ not_ what I meant by backing me up, Jenn." Steve bellowed. "Tell the detective there is nothing going on between my mother and your father."

Jennifer groaned and stood from her chair. She crossed over to Steve and wrenched his folded arms away from his chest. Once they were at his sides again, she patted him on the chest. "I could tell you that, but I promised to never lie to you again. Neither of them has said anything to me, but…"

Steve's phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and stabbed the accept button without taking his eyes off Jennifer's. "What?" he demanded.

He listened for a minute, watching as Jennifer stepped slowly away from him, putting some physical distance between them. "Yeah, thanks," he replied to the caller before disconnecting and tossing his phone onto his desk. Jennifer looked at him expectantly from her new perch on the opposite corner of his desk. "Everything's fine at the storage facility. The movers are just pulling away."

"Good," Jennifer replied with a nod. "Our video conference with Senator Hillman starts in less than 5 minutes."

She tried to escape out the door behind Danny, but Steve hooked a finger into the waistband of her jeans and pulled her back against him. "Mom and_ Joe_? Seriously?"

Jennifer sighed deeply before turning to face him. "Like I said, I don't know for sure."

"But your Super Spy skills say…"

She placed a hand on either side of his cheeks. "My Super Spy skills are determined to stay out of it. My _daughter_ skills tell me that my father has feelings for your mother that he may or may not have told her about."

"That is wrong on so many levels," he grunted, his eyes narrowed at her.

Jennifer only laughed a reply and gently stroked his cheek with her thumb before he released her from his grasp.

He trudged out of his office with a scowl set on his face and sidled up to Jennifer at the Smart Table. "We are not done talking about this," he said quietly.

"Wanna bet?" she countered with an indelicate snort as the video conference feed suddenly went live.

Senator Robert Hillman of Georgia, a guaranteed lock for the Democratic Presidential nomination only a few months away, appeared on the screen before Steve, Jennifer and Danny. His red tie had been loosened and the top button of his blue dress shirt opened. He looked tired and wind-blown from a day of campaign stops. Hillman's Chief of Staff sat next to him, scribbling furiously on a notepad.

"Senator Hillman," Jennifer began warmly, "thank you for taking this call. I know it's getting late in North Carolina."

"Oh, Miss White, I pretty much run 24/7 these days. My COS briefed me as to the nature of this meeting. Something about an Operation Orosu from back in '74?" the Senator answered with just the slightest hint of a southern twang.

"Yes, sir."

"How's your Daddy by the way?" Hillman asked with a grin. "I haven't seen him since he stole my money in a card game about 15 years ago."

"Never play cards with a SEAL, Senator," Steve interjected. "They lie better than politicians."

Hillman laughed heartily. "That would have been helpful knowledge 15 years ago, son."

Steve chuckled. The Senator was nothing if not instantly likeable. "So this Orosu business," he continued, taking a file from his COS and sliding a pair of glasses on.

"Yes, sir," Jennifer answered with a nod. "Orosu is tied to an active Agency case. Someone intimately familiar with the details has voluntarily given or possibly sold the names of the personnel involved to a former high-ranking member of the Japanese Yakuza whose father was killed during the hit. You were the Chief of Staff to Ambassador Benjamin Tiner at the time."

"Lemme guess," the Senator said, "Wo Fat?"

Steve's eyes went wide. "You're familiar with him, sir?"

"There are very few secrets in the US Government, Commander, only carefully controlled information," Hillman countered. "I believe your Agency has been watching him for a very long time, Miss White. He's been courting those names since the mid '80s."

"That's why we think it has to be someone tied directly to the operation who knew the players _beyond_ what was filed by the CIA, Naval Intelligence, DOD or the State Department," Jennifer continued. "Someone who wouldn't need to leave a trail by accessing the computer servers in any way."

"What are you getting at Jennifer?" Hillman asked with furrowed eyebrows.

Jennifer took a deep breath. "Only 4 people knew the true identity of the Agent in Charge on Orosu,– Director Colby, Vice Admiral Rectanus, Secretary Vance and Ambassador Tiner."

The Senator took off his glasses and rubbed his temples with his fingers. "You think Ambassador Tiner sold out Shelburne? The man's been dead for 37 years and the cancer was eating away at his brain for a good 18 months before that. He was the Ambassador in name only by the time Orosu happened."

Jennifer made a show of checking the file she'd laid out on the Smart Table. Steve's heart raced as he choked back the desire to jump through the screen and strangle Hillman. Jennifer finally looked up from her notes and shook her head, allowing a gentle smile to overtake her lips. "I am _so_ sorry, Senator. I'm unbelievably embarrassed. That information is just _not_ in the notes I've been using to piece together the investigation."

If Hillman knew he'd inadvertently given them evidence of his guilt, he didn't show it. "The President and Tiner were old friends. He knew what was going on, but didn't want to take the appointment away from Ben. We didn't record un-pleasantries like that back in the day."

"Thank you, sir," Jennifer replied pleasantly. "Again, I am so sorry to have dragged you into this. I will have my boss look into the misinformation I was given."

"That's okay, sweetie," the Senator said with a chuckle. "Tell your Daddy I said hey and that he owes me five hundred bucks."

"I will, Senator, thank you," Jennifer said with a false grin that didn't reach her eyes, "Again."

She reached across the Smart Table and pressed he End button with a trembling finger to discontinue the video conference. When the screen went black, Jennifer bent at the waist and rested her hands on her knees. Steve began to pace again before slamming his fist into column support outside Chin's office. Danny stood, still looking at the blank screen, with a dazed look on his face. "What the _hell_ just happened?" he finally asked.

"You were right," Steve said, glancing over at Jennifer. "It's Hillman."

"No," she shook her head without bothering to lift her head from between her knees. "It cannot be this easy."

"What can't be this easy?" a male voice asked.

The three spun in the direction of the voice and found Joe and Doris standing in the doorway of the 5-0 office.

TBC…


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N – Steve's temper is back. ;-) and I can't WAIT to see what you all think of this chapter!

* * *

They stood staring dumbfounded at the couple. Steve blinked once; then everyone began talking at the same time.

"Dad?" Jennifer asked incredulously.

"Joe?" Steve demanded.

"What can't be this easy?" Joe asked again.

"What is the matter with you?" Danny yelled.

"Someone needs to answer my question!" Joe countered.

Doris whistled to get everyone's attention and stop the arguing. The four immediately turned their gaze to her. "Much better," she sighed. "I'm with Joe. _What_ can't be this easy?"

"We found the mole. It's Senator Hillman," Steve interjected irritably, "What the hell are you two doing here?"

She smiled wearily. "I missed the scenery?" Her attempt at humor was totally lost on the son already extremely agitated from the call with the Senator.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Steve thundered. Jennifer was immediately in front of him, pushing at his chest with her palms to back him away from the common area and further from Joe and Doris.

"Watch your language, son," Joe chastised.

"I'm not your son, Joe!" Steve yelled back. Jennifer managed to force Steve into his office where she promptly shut the door and backed against it, blocked his exit with her body.

"Okay, breathe," she ordered. He glared down at her and moved with the obvious intention of relocating her from the door. "Don't…even…try…it," she warned, cocking one eyebrow at him.

He smirked and grabbed at her waist, quickly realizing he shouldn't have underestimated her. Jennifer took tight hold of his wrist and twisted, sending him to his knees in pain as she pressed against his elbow. "I warned you," she stated simply.

"Yeah, you did," he agreed, wincing at the pain shooting up his arm.

"Your temper needs a time-out, Steve."

"What am I, five?" he asked angrily.

"Well, you're sure as hell not acting like a seasoned special forces solider," she replied.

He groaned because she was absolutely right. "I'll be good if you let me go," he promised.

Jennifer relented and he stood. "I'm sorry I had to do that, but you were a half second away from totally losing control and we can't afford that right now," she said quietly.

He ran his hands over his face and blew out a deep breath. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I forced your hand."

She held her arm out to him with her hand palm up. "Something obviously happened, so let's go out there and find out what it was."

He took her hand in his. "I can't promise I won't lose my temper again, Jenn," he said softly.

She squeezed his hand and smiled. "Good thing you have me around then, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he replied, allowing her to lead him out of his office. His mother and Joe stood near the Smart Table with Danny, who was giving them an earful.

"I hate to interrupt the scolding session Danny has going on," Jennifer said over Danny's rant. "But what the hell happened, Dad?"

Joe smiled at his daughter before opening his arms to her. "Don't I get a hug?"

She rolled her eyes and fought the grin overtaking her lips while she stepped into his embrace. He held her tightly before releasing her. "What happened?"

"Wo Fat's men wired a code cracker to the outside panel. We had no choice but to let them open the door and attack. I couldn't change the codes fast enough to keep their machine from working," Joe explained. "Then, I got us the hell out of there."

"And you didn't think it was a good idea to tell us?" Steve demanded.

Joe shook his head. "We were all safer with you in the dark."

Jennifer could see the vein throbbing on the side of Steve's neck as he struggled to keep his cool. "Okay," she said calmly, "so where you have been since then?"

"Called Gutches," Joe replied. "We are in the capable hands of SEAL Team 9 at the moment."

"For the moment?" Steve asked with disbelief.

"Steve, I need to speak with you, in private," Doris finally said quietly before glancing back at Joe.

Steve's blue eyes darted between his mother and his beloved "uncle". He was still looking right at Joe when he said, "There's nothing you can't say right here, Mom."

She shook her head. "No. I need to do this privately." Her eyes, when he looked down at her were pleading. "Okay," he managed weakly before ushering her into his office and shutting the door.

He glanced over her shoulder to Jennifer who was listening to something Joe was telling her. He watched as her posture immediately stiffened. He didn't need to see her face to know her eyes were wide with either shock or fear.

"What is it, Mom?" he asked.

Doris took a deep breath and stepped up to him. The tears in her eyes didn't go unnoticed. "This whole thing, Steven," she began, "has gone wildly off the rails."

"What _thing_?"

Her hands trembled as she brought them up near her throat. "The life we were leading, it wasn't the life I wanted for Jennifer - always on the run, separated from you and Joe. She was losing herself protecting me, because it's what Joe wanted and what she knew you would do if the situation was reversed. Every day, I looked into the eyes of this beautiful, compassionate, strong-willed young woman and the light was a little dimmer," she stated softly, tears cascading down her cheeks.

He looked past his mother again to see Jennifer's knees buckle and then collapse into Joe's arms. His heart ached with desire to hold her and take her pain away. "After your father was killed and you got so wrapped up in looking for Shelburne, I knew I had to get her out, get you both _out _of this mess. You deserve a life, and…and happiness and children. Everything I've taken away from you…"

"What did you do?" he demanded thinly over the roar of his wildly beating heart in his ears.

"Aiden was my fault. I asked him for help. I told him I wanted Jennifer to be able to finally move on, and…I didn't correct him when he assumed it would be with _him_."

"What did you _do_?" he asked again. His voice cracked with anger.

Doris took another deep breath and steeled her reserve to continue. "Joe and I sent Wo Fat on a wild goosechase to find Shelburne in Japan, where you arrested him in Tokyo. _That_ was supposed to be the end."

Steve felt like he'd been punched in the gut, but it was a mere millisecond before his anger came raging back. "_You_ did this? You and Joe?"

She nodded weakly. "Wo Fat was in maximum security at Halawa. The odds of him escaping should have been slim to none," she spoke quickly, almost in time to Steve's frantic pacing around his office. "Nothing after Joe brought you to me in Japan was supposed to happen, Steve…"

He held up a hand to stop her as she began imploring him to forgive her. He threw the door open and stalked back into the common area of the office. He gently extradited Jennifer from Joe's arms and kissed her on the head, muttering "I'm sorry" as she sobbed. Once her body was fully behind his he turned to Joe and raised his fist.

TBC…


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

Steve crossed from the threshold of Commanding Office Wade Gutches front door to the porch then over to the swing where Joe was sitting holding an ice pack to his jaw. "Pack a powerful punch there, son," Joe said with a chuckle.

Steve sat on the swing beside Joe and handed him a cold beer. "I'm sorry I punched you," he said half-heartedly.

Joe snorted. "No, you're not."

Steve laughed. "You're right, I'm not." The men sat quietly for several moments, paying more attention to their beers than each other, before Steve felt compelled to speak again. "I've never seen Jennifer lose it like that." He glanced over at Joe, whose eyes had closed momentarily, his jaw clenched tightly. He knew the older man was biting back emotion – Steve had seen it before, at his mother's "funeral", Joe determined to remain strong for his best friend and his heartbroken children.

"How much has she told about her life…before?" Joe asked.

"Her mom, your sister, died when she was almost 11. Your mom was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's and couldn't raise her," Steve replied.

"Did she tell you I didn't know she _existed_ until a foster home case manager tracked me down to tell me my sister was dead and I had a niece?" Joe said quietly.

Steve's eyes involuntarily snapped shut as bile rose in his throat. "No, she never told me that."

Joe took another swig from the bottle. "That little girl of mine is damn good at compartmentalizing her emotions-almost as good as you." Steve scoffed at the tease. "But today, your mother's confession… just _broke_ her. My sister, Janet, she was always…lost. She and my father butted heads constantly, she hated abiding by his rules. My folks kicked her out the day she turned 18. Then she got into drugs, alcohol. I bailed her out several times, never told my parents – my dad would never have forgiven me. The last time I saw her, she'd been arrested for prostitution. Anything to get money, get her fix. That's when I cut her off. She was pregnant with Jenny at the time. I didn't know…hell, she might not have known…

There are thing Jenny won't tell me," he continued. "God knows what she saw, what she lived through. I know she had to feed herself because Janet always was out of it, get herself to school. She's never known a mother's love until _your_ mother. Never understood the love between a mother and a child, the lengths a mother would go through to protect her child…until today. Nancy was ready and willing to risk everything, even her life, to give Jenny a chance at a real, happy life."

Steve swallowed hard. "I didn't know."

Joe shook his head. "She didn't want to tell you and she sure as hell didn't want me to, either."

Steve cleared his throat and took another drink. "Danny asked me earlier today how long you and Mom have been 'involved'."

Joe choked on his beer. "What?"

"You heard me," Steve countered.

Joe groaned and blew out a deep breath. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to go put on some battle armor before we have this conversation. I'm too old to keep getting beat up."

"Because, it's okay," Steve said warily, "if you are, ya know…if you're in love with…Mom. It'd be weird…really weird… but I'd be…I am…okay with it."

"You're rambling, son," Joe chastised.

"So are, you?" Steve asked.

"Am I what?" he replied, clearly attempting to avoid the question.

Steve shook his head and tried not to let his frustration be to evident. "Are you in love with Mom?"

"Uuggghhhh," Joe groaned. He scratched at the top of his bald head. The awkwardness, and Joe's obvious discomfort with the topic, was palatable. "Yes," he finally answered after a long silence.

Steve nodded. "And she loves you too?"

"I gotta say, this is a conversation I never in a million years dreamed I'd be having with you," Joe answered.

"Why are you making this so difficult?" Steve countered. "It's like pulling teeth! It's a one word answer, Joe!"

"Fine! Yes, alright?" Joe nearly yelled. "I love your mother and your mother loves me. Happy now?"

"Not so much, no!" Steve shot back before dissolving into a fit of contagious and utterly exhausted laughter.

Joe wiped at his eyes as their laughter subsided. "Steve, I need you to know – your mother was completely loyal and faithful to your father. This thing between Nancy and me – it's new. I don't know what's going to happen, but I do love her, have for a while. And I love my daughter. And I love you and Mary too. You're my ohana, and I will do anything and everything I feel is necessary to protect you guys. And I won't apologize for it."

Steve turned to look his former commander in the eyes. "I know, Joe."

The older man clapped him on the shoulder before returning to his beer. "I'm not calling you Dad," Steve said with a grin.

"You're a pain in the ass, you know that?" Joe countered.

...

Steve made his way through Gutches' dark and quiet house. He found Jennifer standing in the doorway to living room, watching Joe as he watched Nancy sleeping on the couch. A soft, serene smile graced Jennifer's lips. He stepped in behind her and slid his arms around her waist. She instinctively leaned back against him. "He loves her," Steve whispered quietly in her ear.

"Yeah," Jennifer answered just as softly. "I'm sorry I fell apart earlier. I just…" Steve held her tighter against him as she continued. "I mean, I knew…that I adored her, worshipped her, needed her. I knew that she was just as important to me as my Dad, but for her to do what she did…"

"She loves you," Steve stated plainly. "And don't apologize for being emotional. Super Spy or not, you're still human."

"We can't keep doing this, Steve."

"Doing what?" he questioned with eyebrows knit in confusion.

"Running, hiding, fearing for our lives, for _theirs_," she explained with a nod toward their parents in the living room. "We have to end this. She set it in motion…for _us_. We need to finish it…for _her_."

TBC…


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0. Just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N - Once again, I am forced to apologize for the delay in posting this. I prefer writing drama to living it, but man, have I been living it recently.

* * *

Sang Min. Steve rubbed the back of his tired neck as he paced. His mother's fate, all of their futures, were in Sang Min's felonious hands. Danny leaned against the Camaro, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration as they waited. "Could you stop pacing, please?" he asked irritably.

Steve glared at his partner and continued wearing a path in the concrete under his feet. "I'll take that as a no, then." Danny muttered under his breath.

Headlights rounded the corner of the parking garage in downtown Honolulu were Steve and Danny were meeting the unmarked prison transport van bearing the criminal. Steve stopped pacing and Danny stood at attention as the van came to a stop a few yards from them. One guard slid the side door open while the other brought the Commander some forms requiring his signature.

"Steve McGarrett," Sang Min's heavily accented drawl was dripping with fury. "What, you couldn't live without me?"

The Commander scoffed and took a moment to survey the prisoner before him and found the mullet in pristine form. "Orange really isn't your color," he shot back.

Sang Min held his shackled hands out. "You're telling me," he sneered. "We gonna do this like civilized men, or what?"

"Civilized?" Danny laughed. "The, uh, comedy routine is coming along nicely."

"You want my help?" he countered. "You unlock these," he lifted his hands again towards Danny who rolled his eyes but indicated to the guards to remove the cuffs from Sang Min's wrists.

"Commander, Detective," the elder guard said, accepting the signed forms from Steve. "He's all yours."

Steve nodded curtly. Danny took Sang Min by the elbow and led him over to the Camaro. He opened the passenger side door and pushed the front seat forward. Steve crossed over to the driver's side and yanked the door open before sliding in to his seat. "Still not man enough to drive your own car, Danno?" Sang Min taunted. Danny responded by pushing the prisoner's head a little too forcefully into the back seat. He pushed the seat back and clicked it into place before sliding in. "I'm going to relish the chance, however small, to put a bullet in your ass, just for fun," Danny announced as the Camaro roared to life under Steve's touch. The Commander smirked at Danny's threat, then laughed aloud when Sang Min muttered "Police brutality," under his breath.

The trio arrived at Steve's house twenty minutes later. "Whoa, nice digs, McGarrett. I didn't realize public service paid so well," Sang offered from the back seat.

"Yeah, I'm sure you'd have chosen a more honorary path in life," Danny responded sarcastically, sliding from the front seat to open the back. Sang rubbed his wrists absentmindedly as he followed Danny into the house, with Steve close behind, preventing any thought of escape.

"Jenn?" Steve called as they crossed the threshold of the home. Both Jennifer and his mother emerged from the kitchen. "Holy Mullet," Jennifer exclaimed.

"This is a fashion statement," Sang countered irritably.

Nancy shook her head incredulously. "Your father rocked a mullet…in 1982," she said to Steve.

Jennifer turned to Nancy, her eyes wide. "Rocked?" she repeated.

Nancy shrugged. "Okay, I might have been watching some Disney Channel. Not the cartoons...although this one with two brothers is really funny and surprisingly pop-culture relevant…" she trailed off as four stupefied expressions started back at her. "Grace," she tried to explain with a nervous twist of her necklace around her finger. "I want to be able to communicate with Grace and my grandchildren on their level."

Danny blinked slowly before shaking his head discreetly and turning to Steve. "If you hear my daughter say she 'rocked' anything, you have my permission to ground her on the spot," he said quietly.

Sang's eyes darted suspiciously between Steve and his mother. "I thought your Makuahine was dead, McGarrett."

"Sang Min," Steve started with a smile, "I'd like you to meet CIA Special Agent Nancy Sheldon, aka Shelburne."

Sang's hand recoiled from the one Nancy had extended to him as if he'd been burned. "No, no, no, no, no," he stuttered, his eyes wide with fear. "No way, you on your own, McGarrett. Ain't no way I get in bed with Shelburne and come out alive."

Danny blocked Sang's hasty retreat toward the front door. He held his ground as he looked the criminal in the eye. "I'm actually okay with that. Steve?"

Steve replied with a nod of his head and a sly smile.

The color drained from Sang Min's face as he bent at the waist. "You didn't tell me nothing about this."

"I did, actually," Danny countered. "You said, 'you got a job for me?' and I said, 'we've got the one thing Wo Fat wants'. Not my fault you couldn't read between the lines."

"Getting out of prison and getting dead are two different things!" Sang yelled.

Danny's expression was bordering on gleeful as he regarded the criminal who had caused them so much headache. He still blamed Sang for his brush with death by sarin. He shrugged nonchalantly before answering, "I mean, not _really_, if you think about it."

Nancy shot a disapproving glare at Danny before taking over the conversation. "Sang, we need your help. My son and Detective Williams have offered you full immunity and time served in exchange for you getting word to Wo Fat that you know who Shelburne is and where she is. Once this is over, you'll never have to fear Wo Fat again. Are you in?"

Sang Min ran a hand over his face and chewed on his bottom lip, clearly lost in a myriad of choices and outcomes. He paced for several minutes while he contemplated before finally answering, so quietly they had to strain to hear."

"Yes…"

TBC…


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

"Sang Min," Will Ling, one of Wo Fat's top associates said with a long, annoyed drawl. "Working with Five-O again?"

Sang Min shook his head forcefully. "No, no, no. I'm through with them. Offered me nothing for my pain and suffering last time. Some fed by the name of Frye got me out."

Will sat up straighter on his stool at the bar where he was meeting Sang Min. "Why you?"

Sang shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly. "Said my connection to McGarrett would come in handy."

"How did he know about your 'connection' to Commander McGarrett?" Ling questioned curiously.

Sang's eyes went wide. "How should I know?" he snorted. "I gave up a long time ago trying to figure out how feds know what they know. Frye promised me immunity and time served for helping him out with a little situation."

Ling swirled the dark whiskey in his glass and regarded Sang Min with an amused expression. "And what situation might that be?"

Sang leaned in so that mere millimeters separated him from Ling's ear. "Offing one of his co-workers. Some bitch named Shelburne."

Steve inwardly cringed at hearing Sang refer to his mother as "some bitch" but he quickly squelched the emotion. The team had known Will Ling would immediately have Sang Min searched for a wire. Luckily for them, the CIA had access to much fancier tools than Five-O did on its own. The tiny fiber optic bug and transmitter had been cleverly hidden in Sang Min's pompadour following a rousing game of "Not It" that left Kono weaving the wire through his thick, course hair.

"Shelburne, huh?" Ling questioned. "What else did this Agent Frye say?"

"That Wo Fat's been looking for Shelburne for _years_. Hasn't been able to find her."

"That's twice now you've referred to Shelburne as a woman," Ling interrupted. "What makes you think Shelburne is female?"

"That's the best part," Sang Min replied with a sneer Steve couldn't see, but could definitely hear. "Frye says it's McGarrett's very own makuahine."

"McGarrett's mother is dead," Will countered. "Been gone twenty years."

Sang shook his head again. "Naw, that's what they want you to think. That car accident was staged by the CIA."

"And you know all this, _how_?"

"Frye had these files," Sang began. "Crazy stuff...McGarrett's makuahine – she's a fed too. Ran some operation called Orosu that got Wo Fat's father dead. They faked Momma McGarrett's death to protect her when he started asking questions."

"Where is Shelburne now?" Ling asked; his voice tinged with excitement.

"Catching up with her sweet baby boy. That other SEAL Commander, uh, White? Yeah, he's been in on it the whole time. Tryin' to get his daughter back with McGarrett so they can be one big happy ohana. That's why Frye wants Shelburne _gone_. He's in love with the daughter too."

"That's quite the story you're telling me, Sang," Will replied.

"It's not a story, it's a fucking soap opera," Sang countered with a laugh. "But what do I care, as long as I get out, right?"

"I want to talk to this Agent Frye," Ling stated.

Steve could hear Sang Min shake his head via the bug. "Naw, he don't want the girl knowing he's involved. I'm the middleman."

"Now that I know who Shelburne is, what's to say I don't take her down myself?" Will threatened.

Sang Min scoffed at the suggestion. "You ain't gonna _find_ her without Frye. McGarrett's not stupid. Neither are daddy and daughter White. They got Momma McGarrett so protected, you ain't gonna find your ass without me and Frye."

"And what exactly do you want in return, Sang?"

"The undying gratitude of my favorite employer," Sang replied with a sick grin.

Steve could hear Will Ling stand and drop several paper bills on the counter. "I'll be in touch," he stated.

88888888

"Well that was fun," Aiden Frye offered sarcastically from the seat in the surveillance van he was currently handcuffed to. "Why am I here again?"

Jennifer turned and regarded him with disdain. "You are going to help us in exchange for being IN Leavenworth as opposed to being buried underneath it."

Frye smiled at her and ran his tongue over the stitched-up slit in his bottom lip. "You're beautiful when you're angry, you know that?"

Steve responded with a fist to the back of Frye's head. "Fuck," the agent muttered under his breath, shutting his eyes against the pain ricocheting through his skull. "How do you think you're going to explain the injuries your boyfriend gave me, if and _when_ I have to meet Wo Fat face-to-face?" he asked as the pain finally subsided.

"You're young and really fucking stupid," Steve answered with a smirk, using Aiden's previous threat on Joe against him. "Things _happen_."

"Is he this funny all the time?" Aiden countered to Jennifer, who stood and strode over to him. He braced himself for the punch that never came.

She knelt in front of him and regarded him seriously. "I will take great pleasure in violating every precept of the Geneva Convention, Aiden," she answered with a calm, icy and venomous tone, "starting with clawing your eyes out with my bare hands, just to watch you writhe in agony and the fear of where I'll strike next."

"Am I the only one a little scared of her right now?" Danny whispered in Steve's ear.

"Sexy, right?" Steve countered with a grin.

Danny's eyes went wide. "There really _is_ something wrong with you, babe."

"Sang Min's on the move, guys," Steve heard Lori's voice through his ear piece. "He's got a tail."

Steve gently touched the button on the ear piece that would allow him to speak back to Lori. "Stay back as far as you can, Lori, but keep an eye on him."

"Yep," came her affirmative reply.

"What now?" Danny asked.

Steve sighed and ran a hand over his face. "We wait."

TBC…


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N – I hope you guys are still reading this and that I haven't bored anyone or frustrated anyone with the sometimes long update times. I'd love to hear from you if you are still reading! I have absolutely nothing against the state mentioned later in the chapter. I have several good friends from said state. It just happened to be the convenient "target".

* * *

They didn't wait long. Steve's cell phone rang on the bedside table at 2:05 a.m. "Yeah?" he answered, his voice rough from sleep.

"Commander McGarrett…" Steve bolted upright at the sound of Wo Fat's voice, knocking Jennifer's prone body from his chest and waking her instantly. "We have not spoken since you left me to rot in prison."

He looked over at Jennifer and nodded. She had already opened her laptop and was busy typing in Steve's cell phone number, attempting to trace the call he was receiving. "What do you want, Wo Fat?" he asked cautiously.

A trill of laughter answered him. "You should ask yourself that question, Commander. What do _you_ want?"

"I have what I want," Steve countered defiantly. He could see the screen of Jennifer's laptop as the program she was running began triangulating the tower Wo Fat's cell was originating from.

"I made acquaintance with a lovely young woman from San Diego last night taking the red-eye to Honolulu…"

The blood in Steve's veins turned to ice and the color drained from his face. Mary. He scratched "he has Mary" onto a sheet of paper and shoved it at Jennifer. She leapt from the bed and began stabbing numbers into her cell.

"She was very apprehensive about seeing her mother again," Wo Fat continued. "I promised her I'd be with her every step of the reunion."

"Yeah, you're quite the gentleman," Steve answered sarcastically. He rose from the bed and began to pace.

"I had told you once before, Commander that I _always_ have insurance. We have mutual friends who are quite adept at acquiring and distributing valuable information."

"I want to talk to my sister," Steve strain in his voice belying his desire to appear calm.

"Of course," Wo Fat said.

"Steve?" Mary's voice came on the line and Steve breathed a small sigh of relief.

"I will get you out of there, I promise," he said quickly, knowing Wo Fat would soon snatch the phone away. "Stay strong. I love you, Mary."

"She loves you too," Wo Fat sneered, taking over the call again. "You have a choice to make, Commander - your mother or your sister."

"What about Sang Min?" Steve asked, knowing their ruse – using Aiden as the traitor and Sang Min as the middleman – had failed miserably.

"He has been…dealt with. You know the old American saying 'fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me'? Sang Min betrayed my trust _twice_. There won't be a third time. Think long and hard about your decision, Steve. And remember our mutual friends. I _will_ know if you try to fool me again." With that threat hanging in the air like an anvil about to drop on Steve's chest…Wo Fat ended the call.

Jennifer rushed back into the room just as Steve dropped the phone onto the bed and sat down hard on the edge – his eyes wide and wild. Her hands were on his cheeks, lifting his face up to hers. "We will get her, Steve. I promise you, we'll get Mary," she said earnestly, repeating the words as his blue eyes glazed over with fear and his hands reached out to her hips.

Nancy topped the stairs with Joe on her heels. "How did this happen?" she nearly shrieked. "The ticket wasn't even in Mary's name!"

"It's got to be the damn mole," Joe stated.

"It's Hillman," Jennifer replied at the exact same time.

Joe's head whipped in Jennifer's direction. "Wait, what did you say?"

"The traitor, Dad, it's Senator Hillman," she explained.

Joe stared at his daughter with a stunned expression. "You think _Bob_ is the mole?"

"No," Jennifer clarified quickly, "we _know_ he is."

Nancy crossed the room to Steve's bed and sat down beside her son, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "We'll save her Mom, I swear it," he whispered against her hair before turning his attention back to Joe and Jennifer.

"Bob Hillman is not a mole, a leak or a traitor, Jenny," Joe said confidently.

"Dad, he admitted he was in the meetings about Orosu. It wasn't Tiner who knew the names of the agents involved, it was _Hillman_," she argued. "There is no other explanation as to why that information was redacted from CIA files on Orosu."

Joe scratched at his beard. "Honey, his name was redacted because the CIA didn't want the government knowing they'd planted an agent in an embassy in a friendly country."

Jennifer eyes went wide. "Hillman's an agent?" she asked incredulously.

"Was," Joe confirmed with a nod of his head. "One of the best. The Agency had already determined that someone on Tiner's staff was leaking sensitive information to the Yakuza. He was originally hired as the Communications Director; but Tiner liked him so much, he fired his Chief of Staff and promoted Bob. Which was when Bob discovered that the leak was _Tiner_."

"Tiner couldn't have been the leak!" Jennifer argued. "Maybe for the other stuff, but not Orosu. Hillman said Tiner was the ambassador in name only; that he was in the final stages of brain cancer and wasn't coherent enough to know what was going on."

Joe had the audacity to laugh at his daughter, which nearly sent Steve into a fit of rage. Nancy grabbed his thigh, surprising Steve with her strength, basically pinning him to the bed. "There was no brain cancer. The President didn't want his friend being recorded as a traitor in the history books," Joe replied.

Both Jennifer and Steve were rendered speechless. "When you questioned Bob, what were his final words to you?" Joe asked.

Jennifer's eyebrows knit in confusion. "That you owe him five hundred dollars."

Joe groaned and looked over at Nancy who shook her head in dismay. "Sweetheart, I never took Bob for five hundred bucks playing poker. It's a code. How many years did he say it's been since we spoke?"

"Fifteen," Jennifer answered quickly, "what does that have to do with anything?"

"515," Nancy said from the bed before running her hands down her face. "How could we not have known?" she asked Joe.

"What the hell does 515 mean?" Steve demanded, his thundering voice echoing loudly in the now silent bedroom.

"It's the area code for Iowa," Jennifer said quietly before locking eyes with her father, who nodded affirmatively. "The Vice President's home state."

TBC...


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N – This will be a short chapter, and you'll see why. And yeah, I'll admit, it's fun to leave people saying "WTF?!"

* * *

"The Vice President's home state." Jennifer's words echoed, seemingly on repeat, in his exhausted brain. One of the people behind the murder of Shelburne agents and the kidnapping of his sister sat in the second highest office of the United States Government. Jennifer hadn't been kidding when she said the conspiracy went higher than he could imagine. But even _she_ didn't anticipate involvement from the woman just a breath away from running the country.

"Deborah McKinney-Cohen," Jennifer said angrily, tossing a picture from the Smart Table screen onto the larger screen hanging in front of the team. "Before being tapped by President Daltier as his running mate, she was a three-term conservative leaning U.S. House Rep. Before that, she was Lieutenant Governor of Iowa. Graduated from Penn State with honors in 1982, then from Yale Law where she had met her husband of 25 years, Bradley Cohen, who was the Vice President of Legal Affairs for Stop & Pop, the largest franchised convenience store chain in the US until he died three years ago of pancreatic cancer. The Cohens' had three children – Thomas is 23, second year law student at Yale; Sarah Kathryn 21, a senior at Georgetown; and finally, Christopher 17, a junior at Manfield Prep in D.C."

"There's not a damn thing in this woman's entire life history that would lead me to believe she would even have knowledge of Shelburne," Steve complained irritably, leaning precariously against the sharp edge of the Smart Table. "And where the fuck is Lori?" he demanded.

"Language," Jennifer instantly chastised. Steve shot back a dirty look.

"Nobody has heard from her since she tailed Sang Min back to his place," Kono explained. "Chin and I have been looking for her. We found her car empty and her cell phone is turned off, no way to GPS track it till it comes back on."

"What about her partner, the Brady Bunch guy?" Danny asked.

"Hasn't heard from her either. I _think_ I talked him out of calling his supervisors to report her missing, but there's no way to be 100 percent sure he hasn't, or won't," she answered.

Steve shook his head in frustration. "So we have to assume she's either been compromised or…"

"Guys?" the tone in Jennifer's voice had Steve whipping around to face her.

"What?" Danny asked. Jennifer's face was white as a sheet when she tossed another document onto the bigger screen. It was a certificate of live birth from a hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

"Cohen had a daughter in 1980. She would have been a sophomore at Penn State," Jennifer explained.

"So, why is the daughter not listed in with her other children?" Steve questioned.

"Maybe the baby didn't make it?" Chin offered. "Is there a corresponding death certificate?"

"No," Jennifer answered, moving files and documents around the table with her finger. "There is no name on the birth certificate either. It only says Baby Girl McKinney. There's no father listed. We can search the court records to find out if it was an adoption, but if it's sealed, it will take forever and it might have absolutely nothing to do with her involvement in _this_."

Steve noticed Kono studying the picture of the Vice President on the screen with an intensity that left him wondering what his rookie saw that he didn't. "Kono?" he questioned gently.

She shook her head quickly and moved over to the Smart Table. Accessing another file, she threw a picture of Lori onto the display; then moved the two photos side-by-side. "Anybody else see what I see?" she asked warily.

"Holy…" Steve began.

"Fuck…" Jennifer and Danny finished simultaneously.

TBC…


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

They all stood staring at the screen before them. The resemblance between Vice President Deborah McKinney-Cohen and Lori Weston was uncanny and at this point, could _not _be considered a coincidence – the wavy blonde hair, the crisp blue eyes, high cheekbones and heart shaped face. The team was left with only one conclusion – Homeland Security Special Agent Lori Weston _was_ Baby Girl McKinney.

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes tightly against the truth slapping him in the face. Wo Fat had managed to stay two steps ahead of him ever since he and Jennifer had landed back in Hawaii. The entire operation, the mission to protect his mother, had been little more than a fumbling, amateur snafu. Now…he knew how and why – Lori was either feeding information to her birth mother, or worse, directly to Wo Fat. And on top of that, he had absolutely no idea where she was.

"What do we do now?" Kono nearly whispered.

Jennifer ran a hand through her hair and blew out a slow breath. "We go back to beginning," she said. "We can't trust anyone outside this room now."

"Off the grid," Steve added. "No 5-0, no CIA, no HPD. From this moment, until this is over – it's just the five of us."

He turned to Kono. "Wipe the Smart table – we start over now."

She nodded and began moving the various files and pictures currently on the computer screen to a file to be retrieved as needed. Chin headed toward the server room. "I'm going to put us on a bouncing IP address. We can still have internet if we need it, and it will be untraceable, but we'll be cut off from the CIA and HPD servers."

Jennifer nod in agreement. "I think that's for the best. Thanks, Chin."

"Lori was _here_," Danny began, rubbing his temples with his thumbs. "We need to sweep the room for bugs and cameras."

"Yeah," Steve replied. "And cell phones off. God knows what kind of tracing equipment Wo Fat has if Lori is really working with him."

An hour later, with the server IP address bouncing every few seconds, phone lines pulled from the walls, cell phones in a metal box and two bugs removed from Steve's office and directly under the Smart Table, the team began to regroup.

"Let's start with what we know," Steve said. "I was tracking Shelburne & Wo Fat in Japan and found him shortly after he killed Hiro Noshimuri. The apprehension was too easy, but we know now that Mom and Joe were behind that. "

"Wo Fat was working with his CIA handler, Anna Douglas to disappear again," Jennifer stated, tossing photos of Wo Fat and Anna from the Smart Table to the larger screen. "Hiro's lawyer Ted Lansing gets the information from an unknown source and kills Anna before Wo Fat can contact her. He fills the plane bearing Steve and Wo Fat from Japan with Yakuza officers, who intend for the plane crash to kill or subdue Steve so they can deliver Wo Fat to Adam."

"Our Super SEAL bests the goons and steals the helicopter, flies to Honolulu where we intercept them and Noshimuri. Kono shoots Lansing, Wo Fat goes to jail, we think the whole thing is over," Danny included.

"So who gave the information to Lansing?" Kono asked.

Steve shook his head. "Could have been Lori, the Vice President, or someone else entirely. Homeland Security could have very well gotten wind of what I was doing in Japan and it's an almost certainty that the State Department and the DOD were apprised, at least when the raid was over."

"Senator Hillman chairs the Senate Committee on Homeland Security," Jennifer interjected. "And he's the one who gave Dad the code about the VP."

"We're gonna need Hillman," Steve surmised with a groan.

"And how do you propose we get a frikkin' Presidential candidate _alone_ long enough to pick his brain about a conspiracy this complex?" Danny demanded.

Steve smirked at his partner. "Don't grin at me like that, Steven! _Bad_ things happen when you grin at me like that!" Danny yelled.

Steve turned to Kono. "Bob Hillman has a personal cell phone – one his wife, his grandkids, call & text him on. Find it."

"You got it," she replied, flipping open a laptop and beginning to run searches.

"You're gonna _text_ Hillman?" Danny asked incredulously.

"Yep," Steve confirmed. "That's exactly what I'm gonna do."

"We'll need a code from Dad," Jennifer said. "We can't come right out and tell Hillman it's us, just in case someone on his staff is holding his phone at the time. We need his grandkids names, their ages and where they are right now. It's not going to work if the one who texts him is standing beside him at some event. "

Steve nod in agreement. "You guys get on that information. Jenn and I will go get the 'spy speak' from Joe."

He ushered her out the door of the Headquarters and into a waiting elevator. When the doors closed behind them, Steve pulled the stop lever. The ancient elevator's gears groaned in protest. He gathered Jennifer into his embrace, sighing when her arms immediately snaked around his torso. "You okay?" she asked gently. "You trusted Lori; she was part of your team."

"I won't make that mistake again," he whispered into her soft skin of her neck. "We're gonna figure this out. We're going to protect Mom, rescue Mary and get rid of Wo Fat for good." He pulled away from her slightly and circled his hands on her tiny waist. "And when it's over, you and I are finding the closest Justice of the Peace or priest or _whatever_ and we're getting married."

"Pfffft," she teased. "What makes you think I'll say yes?"

The skin around his eyes crinkled as he grinned. "Uh, you already said yes - eleven years ago. And that engagement was broken under extreme emotional duress, so it's doesn't count."

"It doesn't count?" Jennifer repeated with a soft chuckle.

"Nope," he answered, brushing his lips over hers. "Marry me," he quietly commanded.

"Okay," she replied.

TBC…


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

Steve held Jennifer's left hand in his right over the center console in the truck as they drove toward Steve's house. Despite everything else going on, everything else going wrong, Jennifer had agreed to marry him…_again_ and that felt right.

"Steve, we've got a tail," Jennifer said, breaking him from his reverie.

He glanced into the rear-view mirror. "Which one?"

"Silver late-model Honda three cars back on my right," she answered.

"Looks like a female driver, could we get that lucky?" Steve scoffed.

"Order of the universe, something's gotta go our way eventually, right?" Jennifer replied with a grin.

He nodded. "From your lips to God's ear." He turned left onto the main thoroughfare leading to the house. Jennifer continued watching the vehicle trailing them via the side-view mirror. "What's the plan?" he asked.

"In and out? If it _is_ Lori, she's going to be more focused on making sure she can see you than me."

"Sounds good," Steve agreed, making the turn into his driveway. The car that had been tailing them had disappeared down a side road less than a block from Steve's drive. He grabbed Jennifer's hand as she rounded the side of his truck. He knocked on the front door before using his key to alert his mom and Joe they were coming in.

He shut the door behind him after Jennifer crossed through. "Aren't you supposed to call first?" Joe asked curiously, stepping from the kitchen with a large coffee mug in his hand. Jennifer went immediately to the entry table and extracted the gun they'd placed in the drawer.

"Turned 'em off, locked 'em up," Steve explained, sliding into the chair behind his father's desk and flipping on the monitor for the security cameras he and Jennifer had installed. "We've been compromised."

"Of course we have," Joe answered with a scoff. "I'm starting to think we're cursed."

Steve turned back to Joe and laughed. "You're just _now_ starting to think that?"

Joe shrugged. "Old brain's not working as fast as it used to." He pointed at Jennifer over his coffee cup. "Is there a reason my daughter's getting lethal over there?" he asked as she stuffed a clip into the back of her jeans.

"We were tailed," she explained with a wave of her hand as she crossed the living room to the office. She stepped behind the desk with Steve as Nancy came downstairs with a book in her hand. "What's going on?" she asked.

"There," Steve exclaimed, watching as a female figure hopped over the wall separating the McGarrett residence from the neighbor's.

"Let her get up to the house," Jennifer said, watching the monitor. "Let her peek in, I'll make a show of going to the bathroom and sneak out the window and intercept her."

"Be careful," he ordered.

"Always am," she answered with a grin before smacking a kiss onto his lips. She pulled her shirt down over the back of her jeans to fully conceal the weapon hidden in the waistband and headed into the kitchen.

"Go on like you guys would if Jenn and I weren't here," Steve said quickly, wanting everyone to get into "positions" before the tail had a chance to get into place.

"You want a drink, babe?" Jennifer called from the kitchen.

"I wouldn't say no to a glass of water," he yelled back.

"We're getting them an intercom system as a wedding gift," Joe said with a dismayed shake of his head. He flopped onto the couch and turned the television on to a sports channel.

"Joe says we're getting an intercom for our wedding," Steve hollered.

"We don't need an intercom!" she scoffed, emerging from the kitchen with a glass of water in her hand. She sat it down on the desk in front of him: then leaned down. "She's at the back of the house to right of the lanai," he whispered, pressing a soft kiss just behind Jennifer's ear.

She smiled in response and stepped out of his embrace. Steve watched her head in the direction of the bathroom and shut the door.

"Any more calls about your sister, Steve?" Nancy asked, trying to disguise the desperation in her voice.

"Uh, not yet," he answered casually, flipping off the monitor and striding over to where she sat with Joe on the couch. He sat down heavily in his recliner. "Hopefully we're going to have something to use as leverage in a minute."

Joe took Nancy's hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. The trio waited only a few minutes longer before Steve heard Jennifer kick the sliding glass door at the back of the house. He stood from his chair and crossed over to the door, not the least bit surprised to find Jennifer holding on to Lori's arm with a death grip and a gun trained on her back.

"Get in here," Steve thundered, grabbing her away from Jennifer. He dragged Lori to the recliner and pushed her down into it. "_Where_ is my sister, Lori?"

Lori shook her head forcefully. "I don't know, Steve, I swear."

"Don't lie to me!" he roared, shoving his finger in her face. "Don't you fucking lie to me! I trusted you."

Nancy sprang from her spot on the couch to calm her son, but Jennifer intercepted her with an outstretched arm. "Go upstairs, Mom," she whispered quietly.

"I know," Lori cried weakly, tears springing to her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I don't _care_ that you're sorry. I _care_ where Wo Fat has my sister!" he bellowed.

"I don't **know**!" Lori yelled back. The tears that had formed in her eyes streamed down her cheeks. "I haven't seen her since she got off the plane."

Steve angrily pushed the back of the recliner before stomping away, causing Lori's small form to crash into the frame.

"Let's start with an easy question," Jennifer deadpanned. "Why are you working for Wo Fat?"

"I'm not!" Lori wailed.

Jennifer crouched beside the recliner. "Here's the thing, Weston. Steve – he doesn't hit girls. Me? _I_ hit girls. And the way you were eyeing _my_ man in the cover apartment? Not to mention that you handed my future sister-in-law over to the murderer who wants my whole family _dead_? I'd say you're long overdue for an ass beating."

Lori swiped at her tears with the backs of her fingers. "I did what I had to do to protect _my_ family."

Jennifer nodded. "You mean your mother, I'm assuming. The Vice President of the United States?"

Lori's blue eyes went wide. "How…how did you know that?" she stammered.

"Why are you so shocked?" Jennifer sneered. "Wo Fat obviously figured it out. It's not exactly a stretch to think we'd have the capabilities and the resources to discover the same information. So, what does he have against the Vice President?" she asked when a mischievous glint in her eyes. "It's got to be more career-ending than a long-lost daughter given up for adoption thirty years ago."

Steve watched the wheels spinning behind Lori's eyes as the compromised agent weighed her options. He watched as she shut her eyes tightly, squeezing endless tears onto her cheeks before she opened her eyes again, this time looking beaten and resigned. "My," she started slowly, her voice trembling, "The Yakuza 'owned' my biological great grandfather when he was the Ambassador to the Philippines."

Steve bent at the waist, resting his hands on his knees as spots began appearing before his eyes. "Your grandfather was Benjamin Tiner?"

"Yes," she answered weakly.

TBC…


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

"There's no record of your birth mother being related to Benjamin Tiner," Steve argued.

Lori shook her head. "No, there wouldn't be," she explained. My biological grandfather, Tiner's son, moved back to the US after Tiner died and took his great grandmother's maiden name, McKinney, to try and hide from the Yakuza. And it worked too, until Deb ran for the House. Wo Fat came calling shortly after she was sworn in."

"What did Wo Fat want?" Jennifer questioned.

"At first it was little things," Lori stated sadly. "She was assigned to the committee on Foreign Affairs in her first term. He would keep her "real" identity a secret in exchange for phone numbers in and out of certain Embassy offices in the Pacific. The demands escalated as her political career did – schematics of weapons facilities, base housing and safe house information when Deb was on Armed Services, access to specific agent files from Homeland Security."

"Why didn't she go public and say she was being blackmailed?" Steve demanded.

Lori scoffed at the suggestion. "Right, because the American public would vote unanimously to elect a President whose great-grandfather was a traitor to his country."

Jennifer's eyes went wide. "And what she was doing for Wo Fat _wasn't_ treason?" she asked incredulously.

"You don't understand how careful Deb has to be," Lori sighed. "There is so much _good_ she will do for this country once she's in the Oval Office, but she has to get there first. She's a woman, so that's one huge strike against her right there. Her career would be over if the public found out about her grandfather."

Steve scratched the side of his face and regarded Lori seriously. "You have really drunk the Deborah McKinney-Cohen Kool Aid, haven't you?"

"She's my _mother_," Lori replied forcefully. "My delivering Shelburne to Wo Fat was supposed to be the end. She would be safe from him after. I did what I had to do."

"How was it supposed to go down?" Jennifer demanded.

Lori sighed heavily before answering. "I was to find holes in your security around Shelburne, and to find out her location so Wo Fat could extract her."

Steve nodded his head. "And kill me, Jennifer, Danny and basically everyone I care about in the process, I'm assuming."

Lori shook her head wildly. "No," she answered vehemently. "I was going to make sure you weren't hurt, Steve."

"Just _him_, huh?" Jennifer replied, a knowing smirk on her face. "Glad to know the rest of his team means nothing to you. God knows that will make it easier for me to throw you to wolves."

Lori closed her eyes tightly again as more tears appeared. "I'm sorry, Steve," she said quietly.

"_Sorry_ isn't good enough, Lori," Steve shot back angrily.

A knock at the front door interrupted him before he could continue. Danny opened the door and strode in quickly and glanced at Lori. "Oh good, we found Little Miss Ultimate Traitor. I'd say it's good to see you again, but yeah, I don't give a damn."

Lori brushed away the fresh tears on her cheeks and Danny scoffed at the display of emotion. "I have that information you wanted," he told Steve and Jennifer.

"Great," Steve said, clapping his hands together. He took the sheet of paper Danny offered. "I'm gonna need…" he began.

Danny waved him off –neither wanted to give Lori any more information than she had already been privy too. "Ready to roll," he answered quickly.

"Up," Jennifer said shortly, kicking at the recliner. Lori stood and Danny slapped his handcuffs into Jennifer's waiting hand. She cuffed Lori's right wrist and led her over the hidden storage area to the left of the staircase. She pulled the door open, flipped the light switch and guided Lori inside. She attached the other cuff to the metal bed frame of the small bed.

Jennifer emerged several moments later and shut the small door behind her. "Should we maybe offer her some food or water?" Danny asked casually.

Jennifer shook her head in response. "She can have water when we get Mary back, until then, she can suffer…" She let the rest of the thought "like Mary is" trail off, unsaid. No one in the room needed or wanted to hear the declaration.

Danny pulled a smartphone out of his pocket and handed it to Steve. "Chin was able to program it with the same number as Hillman's granddaughter Rebecca – a mirror of the phone, basically. We'll just have to be careful when he calls back that we answer it before she gets the chance," he explained.

Steve turned the phone on and crossed over to where Joe was leaning against the doorframe. "I assume we're getting in touch with Bob, now?" the older man questioned.

"Yeah," Steve replied. "I need something to say to him so he knows it's us and not his granddaughter…"

Joe nodded. "Without saying, 'hey Bob, all hell has broken loose and we need your help'?"

"Pretty much," Steve conceded.

Joe took the cell phone Steve offered. "Okey Doke," he replied.

Steve watched as Joe studied the blank message screen for several long minutes before he eventually began typing. He fought the urge to read over Joe's shoulder.

Finally, Joe handed the phone back and Steve saw the message – "Poppy need ur help. 411 4 civics. SOBT! Holler! Whitey sez hey."

Steve grinned and looked up at Joe. "What the hell does SOBT mean?"

Joe shrugged. "Stressed out big time. Your mother has been watching a lot of teeny-bopper crap - the whole grandchildren thing again, I guess."

"I'm impressed," Steve replied with a laugh.

"I've got mad skillz," Joe said before taking a long swig of his coffee.

"And I'm leaving now," Steve shot back with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Coffee in the pot is fresh," Joe called after him. "We may be waiting a while for Bob to call back."

TBC…


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

Two and a half hours later, there was an awkward scramble toward the ringing cell phone on the coffee table as Steve, Jennifer and Danny all lunged for it at the exact same time. Jennifer reached it first and tossed it to her father after reading the caller ID.

"Hello?" Joe said. He listened for a moment before pulling the phone away from his ear. He handed it back to Jennifer with instructions to put the call on speakerphone. "Hey, Bob, we're all here now," he said as the group settled back into their respective seats.

"What's happening?" the Senator drawled. "I'm guessing you figured out my code."

"Yeah, we did, thanks for that." Joe replied with a nod. "Not only does our 'friend' have a mole in the second highest office in the country, he had one on Steve's team."

"But we've neutralized that threat, Senator," Steve added. "I'm confident we can use her to our advantage."

"However," Joe continued. "The threat inside the team led to Wo Fat kidnapping Steve's sister, Mary."

"Holy hell," the Senator replied under his breath. "So where are we? What can I do to help?"

"We need you to talk to the VP, Bob. She needs to know that her daughter has been compromised, that we have her and we _will_ use her to protect Shelburne and get Mary back safely," Joe stated.

"Cohen will broker a deal with Wo Fat – Shelburne for Mary," Jennifer continued. "Lori stays in our custody as a double. She'll feed info back to Wo Fat. Cohen and Lori will keep us apprised of absolutely _everything_. We have more than enough evidence to charge Lori with treason."

"She needs to know…it's over, Bob. Her career…the White House…she's done. And if we don't stay in 100% control of this situation from here on out, I'll make sure she loses a helluva lot more than her daughter," Joe said.

"Not that that wouldn't make my life _much_ easier, but if she doesn't go for it?" Hillman asked, carefully choosing his words. "What if she wants to salvage her career?"

Joe shook his head. "Her actions have put my family in grave danger, Bob. I'm not going to get over her 'helping' one of my kids get kidnapped by a murderer and the other two repeatedly shot at. Her political career is _done_, but she can still save her daughter."

The Senator sighed audibly. "I need to think about this, Joe. I'm 'this close' to getting Daltier the hell out of the Oval. My going after the Vice President could have serious repercussions on my campaign."

"You're talking like a politician, Bob!" Joe exclaimed.

"I _am_ a politician, Joe," Hillman countered. "Give me five damned minutes to think before I end up flushing my own career down the toilet."

Joe leaned back against the couch and stared up at the ceiling, realizing he'd reached a stalemate with his longtime friend. "Then, I guess we'll await your next call. Don't think about it too long, though – God knows what that monster is doing to Mary."

"_Guilt_ isn't gonna work on me, Joe," the Senator replied before disconnecting the call.

...

Steve splashed cold water on his face before looking at himself in the mirror, studying the worry lines creasing his forehead and wrinkling the thin skin around his eyes. His jaw ached from hours, days really, of clenching it out of frustration, anger, desperation. Desperate…it was a remarkably accurate assessment of his emotions.

"Lori's sleeping," Jennifer offered softly from the doorway to the bathroom. He hadn't heard her approach.

Steve smiled gently at her. "Soundly?"

"Hell no," Jennifer scoffed. "Danny's staring daggers at her still. He's just sitting there, in the doorway, _glaring_ at her. It'd be funny if this whole mess wasn't so awful." She stepped up behind him and slid her arms around his waist and up his bare chest before pressing a kiss on his shoulder. "You okay?" she asked.

"No," he said softly. "Making deals for my sister's life? I'm definitely _not _okay."

Jennifer rested her forehead against his back. "I know; me neither." He turned and sat on the edge of the vanity. She stepped between his legs and snaked her arms around his neck. Her fingers teased the short hairs at the nape of his neck and she gently pulled his face toward hers. With their foreheads touching, Jennifer whispered, "I love you."

Steve grinned. "Well…it took you long enough to admit."

Jennifer groaned at the teasing while his hands slid under the waistband of her t-shirt. "I know I've had issues with those… words…in the past." Steve's whiskers tickled her neck as he planted soft kisses there, causing her to buck against him. "I lost you once," she continued breathlessly. "I have no intention of doing it again."

His thumbs brushed the bottom of edge of her bra and she bit her bottom lip to stifle a moan when he nipped at the hollow behind her ear. "That makes me very, very happy," he whispered, his breath hot on her skin.

She cocked an eyebrow at him and fought the grin threatening to erupt. "Mmm," she replied cheekily. "I can feel how happy that makes you."

He laughed and pulled her closer to him so he could slam the bathroom door with his foot. "Yeah, 'cause _that's_ not obvious or anything," Jennifer protested as he peeled the t-shirt off her. "Our parents are downstairs, Steve."

He eased one of the straps of her bra down and kissed along the skin he exposed. "It's not like they don't know we have sex." He flicked the front clasp open. His eyes went wide, his pupils blown with lust as he took in the perfection laid before him. "They're the ones who keep saying they want grandchildren," he continued. "Pretty sure they're familiar with the mechanics of _how_ that happens."

Jennifer's head fell back and her breathing hitched when his fingers quickly and deftly undid the fly on her jeans and his hand slipped inside. "You are such a bad influence," she nearly purred as his hand lazily circled where she wanted, _needed_, him most.

"Umm-hmmm," he murmured, allowing one finger to slide into her. "Lock the door," he softly ordered.

As she turned from him briefly, something from the outside slammed loudly against the bathroom door. "Hey Barry White!" he heard Danny yell from the stairwell. "Get dressed and get down here. Hillman has an answer for us."

Steve's head dropped to Jennifer's shoulder and he groaned loudly. She smacked a kiss onto the side of his face and quickly set about righting her jeans and tugging back into her bra and t-shirt.

She glanced back at him to make sure he was ready before opening the door. As they emerged from the upstairs bathroom, Steve found his prized football still spinning on the floor from Danny's throw. "That's my championship game ball, you ass!"

"Do I look like I give a damn?" Danny retorted with a smirk. "No way in hell was I getting any closer to _that_ door than _this_ stairwell."

"Bob's in," Joe declared as the trio arrived back in the living room. Nancy had Jennifer's laptop open on the coffee table. "He has a private breakfast meeting the Vice President at 9 a.m. their time."

"3 a.m. our time," Steve sighed. "That gives up four hours to get prepped."

"Where is the meeting, Dad?" Jennifer inquired.

"Ted's in Capitol Hill," Joe answered. "It will be a very well planned 'random' encounter."

"We need eyes on Cohen after she leaves the restaurant," Jennifer replied, motioning for Nancy to scoot over so Jennifer could get onto the computer. "I can get a surveillance team on her in that amount of time..."

"I can get a satellite on her in that amount of time too and the Secret Service won't suspect," Steve said with a soft groan.

"How are you going to do that?" Nancy asked curiously.

Steve snatched the cell phone off the coffee table. "Catherine."

TBC…


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N - I'm feeling inspired today, obviously, so two chapters! Woo-hoo!

* * *

Jennifer's fingers froze on the keyboard. "You're gonna call Catherine?"

Steve's head snapped up. He'd never heard Jennifer sound as timid as she did in that moment. "I don't know what else to do," he explained.

"I can get a team on the Vice President, Steve," Jennifer argued. "I just said I could."

"If actual _people_ are following her, her agents are going to spot them in a second," Steve countered. "Cath's done this for me before."

"I bet she has," Jennifer said under her breath. She rose from the couch and stalked into the kitchen, leaving a frustrated Steve clutching the cell phone. Joe and Nancy both glared at him expectantly. "What?" he demanded.

"_Go after her_," his mother said incredulously. "You put the ring back on her finger, Steven. Make damn sure she understands it will still be there tomorrow, next month and 50 years from now."

He looked over at Joe. "I agree with your mother, son," he stated quickly.

Steve groaned and tossed the cell phone to Danny before making his way into the kitchen. Jennifer stood at the counter heaping scoops of coffee into the top of the machine. "What are you doing?" he asked gently.

"Making _coffee_," she replied with an irritated tone. "What does it look like?"

"Like you're mad at me," he shrugged.

"Don't you have a phone call to make?" she replied. The anger in her eyes had darkened them from a jade green to a dark emerald color.

He crossed the kitchen in three long strides and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love _you_," he stated forcefully. "I am marrying _you_."

Jennifer remained stiff in his embrace. "You loved _her_ before I came back into your life."

Steve sighed and rested his forehead against the back of her head. "It's not the same, Jennifer, and you know it. I never even thought about asking Catherine to marry me – much less actually _ask_ her…twice, I might add."

"You only _asked_ once," Jennifer countered, her tone softening just slightly. "The second time was more of an order." She slammed the lid of the coffee maker and stabbed at the brew button.

He fought an overwhelming urge to chuckle. "You said yes," he stated with a grin.

"No, I said 'okay'," she reminded him. She leaned her palms against the counter and remained quiet for several long moments. "There's a part of me that doesn't trust this."

"Doesn't trust what, exactly?" he questioned, his brows knit in confusion.

She turned in his arms to face him and rested her hands on his chest. "This. You and me, being together. You loving me again..."

"I never _stopped_ loving you," he argued. "And I was going to have to talk to Cath at some point, Jenn. You know that."

"I do," she sighed, picking at a piece of imaginary lint on his t-shirt. "I'm just...terrified..."

"Of what?" he asked, lifting her chin up to he could look into her eyes.

"Letting you down," she began to explain, her voice shaky with emotion. "Not being able to protect your mom or save Mary. But mostly, I'm terrified of losing you again."

"I'm not going anywhere, Jennifer," he whispered, brushing his lips over hers. "Neither are you. We're going to get married, have a bunch of babies and watch our parents turn into those obnoxious grandparents we'd make fun of at that park in Coronado, you remember? Mary'll be the aunt they call to bail 'em out when they get drunk the first time..."

"At the very young age of 50," Jennifer interjected.

"Sure," Steve agreed with a nod and a grin. "Whatever you say, Mama."

He kissed her gently before pulling away slightly. "Let's go start putting our ohana back together."

Jennifer nodded and kissed him again quickly. They emerged from the kitchen together and watched as the trio of eavesdroppers made a comical effort to look like they _hadn't_ just been eavesdropping on the conversation.

"What we really need is a bug on Cohen, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid after she leaves Bob," Joe stated. "Sweetheart, who in D.C. would you trust for that?"

"My boss," she replied easily. "Tim could pose as a waiter, slip a wire into her pocket or her bag if she's carrying one."

"Good," her father replied with a nod.

Danny tossed the phone back to Steve. "Make the call, buddy."

Steve glared at his best friend. "Don't look at me like that, Steven," Danny chastised. "I'm not the one with one super-hot, ass-kicking fiancee and another super-hot, ass-kicking girlfriend." Jennifer responded by throwing a pen at Danny's head, which he quickly dodged.

"You're not helping," Steve shot back.

"Never implied I was going to," Danny countered.

Steve took a deep breath and blew it out slowly before typing in Catherine's cell number. It rang several times before her voicemail picked up. "Hey, Cath, it's, uh...me. Steve, that is. I, uh, need your help with something," he said uncomfortably. "I'm sure you didn't answer because you didn't recognize the number, but, uh, please call me back as soon as you can. It's kind of an emergency. So, yeah. Bye, Cath."

"Smooth," Danny said sarcastically.

"Shut up," Steve replied.

Jennifer had taken Joe's phone and moved to the office. She sent a quick text, then waited for the phone to ring. "Hey," she said quickly to the person Steve assumed was her boss - and began detailing their current situation to him.

The phone in Steve's hand began to ring. He stabbed at the accept button. "Hey, Cath," he said by way of a greeting.

"Hello, Commander," she replied in a sing-songy voice. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"I need a favor."

Catherine snorted indelicately. "What else is new?"

"Nice," he shot back. "Listen, it's serious, Catherine. I found Shelburne, and Wo Fat has Mary."

"You found Shelburne?"

"Yeah, and well, she's, uh...my mother."

"Okay..." she drawled out. "So what do you need my help to do?"

"I know this is going to sound more than a little crazy, Cath, but...I need you to put a satellite on Ted's in Washington D.C by 9 a.m Eastern Time."

"You want me to train a billion dollar satellite on a restaurant?" she asked incredulously.

Steve paced nervously. "Um, yeah. We're going to get a bug on our suspect, but we need eyes on her too."

"Who is we?" she questioned.

"Me, Danny, Joe, my mom, the CIA, uh...Jennifer."

"Jennifer?" Steve flinched as the tone in Catherine's voice suddenly changed. "_Your_ Jennifer, I'm assuming."

"Yeah, Cath, I wouldn't ask, but it's Mary," he pleaded. "I need your help."

She was quiet for several moments. Steve could imagine Catherine chewing on the inside of her lip out of anger and the myriad of profanities that were probably racing through the Lieutenant's mind. "Who is the target?" she finally asked.

"The Vice-President," he said warily.

"Are you KIDDING me?" Catherine thundered.

TBC...


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

Forty-two minutes. Steve sat in a lounge chair on the lanai for forty-two minutes and eighteen seconds, listening to Catherine stomp around her bunk on the Enterprise and rant about the sheer insanity of what he was asking her to do. She had every right to be as angry as she was – angrier, he thought, if truth be told. Every so often he'd glance back into the house and see Jennifer watching him closely. Several times he caught her unconsciously twirling her engagement ring around her finger. He answered Catherine's questions about Shelburne, the Vice President's & Lori's involvement and his relationship with Jennifer as honestly and as _carefully_ as possible. One question in particular, though, crushed his soul like a used paper cup. "I found a ring…" she started quietly, "…in your desk at the house. I was looking for a pen the last time I was there…it's _hers_, isn't it?"

He leaned his elbows onto his knees and pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "Yes," he answered just as quietly as she'd asked. He heard her swallow a sob. "Cath, I…"

"Don't Steve…" she sighed. "Just…don't. I don't want to hear how sorry you are, or how much these past years have meant to you or whatever other _bullshit_ is going to come out of your mouth. I am _angry_, I…I am _beyond _hurt. But I will do what you've asked. Not for you, but for Mary."

"Thank you," he said gratefully.

"I'll call you when everything's in place," she replied shortly before disconnecting the call.

He laid the phone on the small table in front of him and scrubbed his hands over his face. "Didn't go as well as you thought, I take it?" Danny asked from the doorway.

Steve sighed. "Not even a little bit."

"She gonna help us?"

Steve nodded affirmatively. "She hates me."

Danny scratched the side of his face and grinned. "This might not be the right time, but…I feel confident Catherine will get over that feeling. I did. It takes a while, I'm not gonna lie, but I'm happy to tell you _I_ only hate you about 10% of my waking hours now."

Steve scoffed at Danny's attempt at levity, but had to admit his partner had made him feel a tiny bit better. Danny looked back into the living room and sighed. "We better get back in there. We're down to a little more than 2 hours to prep."

"Yeah," Steve agreed, collecting the phone off the table and stepping back into the living room. "Where are we?" he asked as he sank into his recliner.

"Agent Bartholomew is ready at the restaurant," Joe began to explain. "While Cohen is meeting with Bob, Jenny has another team ready to bug the VP's office and residence. Bob will dial my cell just before Cohen sits down, so we'll be able to hear that conversation whether or not Bartholomew is able to successfully bug her."

"I'd rather be there and do the work myself," Jennifer added, "But I trust the guys Tim has on this."

"Ok," Steve answered absent-mindedly.

"Catherine will have eyes on the VP from the time she leaves the restaurant until the time she gets back to the Residence or her office. If Bartholomew is able to bug her, we should have ears on her too," Danny stated.

There was an awkward silence before Joe spoke again. "I'm gonna go find the charger for this phone. Last thing we need is it going dead."

Nancy sprang from the couch. "I'll help."

Steve glared at Danny expectantly. "Wha?" the detective began before clueing in to Steve's expression. "I'm gonna go round up some grub. Don't need anybody passing out while we're working."

"I'm coming with you," Jennifer offered. She shuffled the papers she'd been reading and stood from the couch.

"Jenn," Steve said softly. She spun to face him as Danny left the room. "C'mere," he requested, holding his hand out to her. She stepped around the coffee table and over to him, then crossed her arms over her chest. The tension, her obvious discomfort with what she may have heard him say to Catherine, was palatable. He circled his hands around her waist and pulled her down so that she was sitting on his lap. "I love you," he murmured, using one finger to push Jennifer's auburn hair from the side of her neck. His lips barely brushed the soft skin as he breathed in the smell of her – Mary's leftover lavender body wash combined with a scent that was uniquely, distinctly, Jennifer. His left hand found hers and he intertwined their fingers, running his thumb around the white gold band of the ring on her finger. "It's home, okay?" he whispered. "_You're_ home. Nothing is going to change that."

He didn't miss the shallow, shuddering breath she took in before she leaned her face down to his. "I know," she whispered back with a soft smile that in no way reached her jade green eyes. He wisely chose not to push her in that moment, electing instead to finish prepping for Hillman's meeting with Cohen. She rose from the recliner after a quick kiss and beat a hasty retreat into the kitchen to assist Danny. Steve leaned back in his chair and took a moment to contemplate the ridiculous mess his life had become in the past week and a half – his mother was alive and in love with his "second father", he was re-engaged to the love of his life, he'd just broken his girlfriend's heart, and if all of that wasn't enough – his sister was in the hands of an international criminal master-mind and murderer. He refused to allow his thoughts to venture into his torturing at Wo Fat's hands. He had to believe with every fiber of his being that Wo Fat wouldn't torture a completely innocent woman.

...

Less than two hours later, the group huddled around the cell phone. Danny had plugged it in to a set of speakers and, with Chin's help, muted the microphone so they could talk freely without risking Cohen hearing them through the open line. Lori was seated on the couch, her legs crossed under her, intermittently swiping at tears.

"Madame Vice-President," Hillman said jovially. They heard the scraping of a chair against the hardwood floor below. "Please, join me."

"Thank you, Senator, that's very kind." Lori stifled a sob at hearing her birth mother's voice. "This is a nice coincidence, running into you."

"I agree, Madame Vice-President," Hillman replied. "There is something quite important I need to discuss with you."

"Please, call me Deb. This isn't the time for formalities."

"Ma'am," another voice said quickly. "May I offer you something to drink this morning?"

"That's Tim," Jennifer said quickly. Steve nod a reply.

"Hot tea with honey and lemon, please," Deb replied. "What's so important Bob, that we had to discuss it here instead of my office?"

"Your daughter," Hillman stated quietly.

"Sarah?" Cohen asked curiously. "I don't understand; I spoke to her earlier."

"Your _other _daughter."

There was an awkward quiet as Tim placed the tea cup on the table. "Thank you," she offered quietly before turning her attention back to the Senator. "What about my other daughter?"

"She's in CIA custody in Hawaii, Deb," Bob said plainly.

"I haven't heard anything about that," she countered. "Homeland Security should have alerted me."

"Not this time," Hillman said, leaning in closer. "We are working completely off the radar at the moment."

"Who is _we_?" she demanded.

"Were you aware that I was in the CIA, Deb?" Hillman asked. "In 1971, I was assigned to serve as the eyes and ears in the embassy in Quezon City, Philippines. The Agency believed that someone in the Ambassador's staff was leaking information to the Yakuza."

"That's not what your official biography says," Cohen countered, the irritation in her voice obvious.

"Deb, I think you understand better than most that what we tell the world may not tell the entire story of our lives," Hillman replied.

"What about my daughter?" she asked again.

"She was privy to the travel plans of the daughter of a CIA agent, codename Shelburne, and passed this information on to a former Yakuza general named Wo Fat. Wo Fat used this information to kidnap the daughter," he explained. "The team I'm assisting was able to uncover the mole, your daughter Lori, and neutralize the threat."

Deb's voice was shaky when she spoke again. "Neutralize?"

"As I stated previously, she's in CIA custody in Honolulu."

"Why are you telling me all of this, Bob?" she demanded.

Hillman was quiet for a moment. "We have more than enough evidence to charge Agent Lori Weston with treason. Having her birth mother in the second highest office in the world isn't going to get her out of this. But, _you_ can."

"How?" Cohen asked, her voice still trembling.

"You will broker a deal – the agent for her daughter. Shelburne knows her daughter has been kidnapped and is willing to turn herself over to Wo Fat in exchange for the daughter being delivered, safe and unharmed, back to her brother."

"I can't be brokering a deal with a murderer, Bob," she said incredulously. "If it got out, it would ruin my career."

"_I_ never said he was a murderer. And your _career_…is over, Deb," Hillman said coldly. "I said earlier we have enough evidence to charge your daughter with treason. I neglected to mention, we have enough to charge _you_ as well. We know you've been passing all kinds of classified information to Wo Fat."

"Your daughter must really love you, Deb," he continued. "She contacted Wo Fat on her own – offered to swap Shelburne for your 'debt' to him being paid in full. The only question now is; how much do you love _her_?"

Hillman dropped some bills onto the table and collected the cell phone from the table. "I'll be in touch," he said. The sound of fabric scratching the microphone as he dropped the phone in his jacket pocket almost masked Cohen's reply.

"Senator?" they heard her call after Hillman. "I'll do it."

TBC…


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

"Okay, the Vice President's car just pulled away from the restaurant." Catherine's voice echoed over the speakerphone. "Heading south on 8th toward the 695."

"695 can take her either to the Vice Presidential residence at the Naval Observatory or her office at the EEOB," Jennifer stated, overlaying the car's potential routes with a map of Washington she had on her laptop.

"If she contacts Wo Fat now, she'll do it from the residence or the car, _not_ from her office," Lori offered from the couch.

"What's the 20 on the bug teams?" Steve questioned.

"Residence group is finished, EEOB team needs approximately two more minutes," Tim Bartholomew said. "The bug I placed in Cohen's pocket _is_ live. I hear feedback from the vehicle, but she hasn't said anything yet. I'm sending Jennifer a link to the feed."

"Let's hope she's headed to the Observatory then," Joe said under his breath.

Cohen's phone buzzed. "Cath, sounds like she just got a text message," Steve said quickly.

"On it," the Lieutenant replied.

"What is her personal cell number, Lori?" he demanded.

"202-816-1879," Lori rattled off.

The team could hear Catherine's fingers typing furiously on a keyboard. "From an unknown number – burner phone I'm guessing…Honolulu area code." There was more typing before she spoke again. "Her outgoing text said 'I need to speak to you immediately'. The incoming text says 'Of course'."

"Are you able to triangulate the cell coordinates, Catherine?" Chin asked.

"Maui," they heard her say, "close to Hana. Hey guys, Lori's cell phone is about to ring."

Less than two seconds later, Lori's cell phone did ring. Steve picked it up from the coffee table and tossed it at her. "It's your mother, answer it."

Lori stabbed the Accept button. "Hi Deb," she said quietly. Steve motioned for her to put the phone on speaker.

"Lori, what the hell is going on?" the Vice President demanded. "Why are you working for _him_?"

"Because you want to run for President and you can't do when he's got you on a leash," the younger woman explained.

"But that is _my_ problem, Lori, not yours," Cohen nearly screeched. "I didn't tell you so you could go behind my back and do something stupid."

Lori swiped at another tear rolling down her cheek. "I know. I'm sorry."

Deb sighed. "Are you really in CIA custody?"

"Yes," Lori answered bitterly. "You want to speak to the agent-in-charge? She's sitting right here, listening."

"I will get you out of this mess, Sweetheart," Cohen said, her voice urgent and thin.

"I'm not sure you can, but I appreciate that you want to," Lori replied sadly.

The team heard a beeping sound indicating another call coming in on Deb's private cell line. "I have to take this, Sweetheart. I love you," Deb said quickly before disconnecting the call.

_"_Hello?_" _the team heard her say via the link Jennifer had activated on her laptop.

"Cath, can you get me the other side of this conversation?" Steve asked.

"Gimme a minute," Catherine said, her fingernails clacking furiously over the keyboard.

"I have information for you regarding Shelburne. I know who she is," Cohen stated coolly.

"I have the same information, Madame Vice-President," Wo Fat's voice was suddenly heard over the connection to Catherine. "Your daughter was most helpful in securing the information and some…insurance…as well."

"Shelburne's daughter," Deb replied.

Wo Fat laughed lightly. "I'm impressed, Madame Vice President. May I ask how you came into possession of this information?"

"_My_ daughter," she lied. "I've been asked to broker a deal, Shelburne in exchange for her daughter."

Wo Fat was quiet for several moments. "I have no need of brokering a deal. I know who Shelburne is and I know where she is. It is only a matter of time before I completely rid myself of the menace that is the McGarrett family."

"What are you planning?" Cohen asked warily.

"Where's the trace, Cath?" Steve demanded.

"Signal's moving," she answered quickly, "But still on Maui."

"If you get a moment, call your daughter and tell her you love her. It will, most likely, be the last time you speak to her," Wo Fat answered, his voice thick with malice. "I will have no use for either of you once this matter has been resolved."

Wo Fat ended the call. The assembled group heard the Vice President sob heavily just once before she started taking deep breaths to calm herself. Lori cried softly on the couch. Everyone else found themselves too stunned to speak.

"What…" Danny began unsteadily. He swallowed hard and scratched at the back of his head. "What do we want to do now?"

Jennifer let out a deep breath. Steve could see the irises of her eyes darting quickly from side to side, formulating and calculating a plan. "He's going to assume that Joe and Steve are in charge and that they want Shelburne out of _any_ potential ambush," she began to explain. "Lori feeds him bogus intel about a relo…"

"What if he knows I've been compromised?" Lori questioned.

Jennifer shook her head. "He doesn't. If he did, he would have told the Vice President."

"You want him to attack the relo?" Steve asked. "Catherine, how many sets of eyes can you give us?"

"One," she answered with a dismayed sigh.

"Then our best bet is to have Catherine find Wo Fat the minute he gets on the island and track him from there. She can relay info back to us," Jennifer stated.

"I don't like it," Steve said with a shake of his head. "I don't want you or Mom in the line of fire."

Jennifer laughed incredulously. "_What_?"

"I don't want you or Mom in the line of fire," he said again. He couldn't understand why his fiancée suddenly seemed enraged. "I want you both in whatever secure location we find and ride it out. It's bad enough I can't ensure Mary's safety."

Jennifer's hands flew to her hips, her pupils so blown with anger they seemed solid black. "You don't get to make that call, Commander."

"The hell I don't!" he countered with an amused snort. "It's not up for debate!"

"Not up for debate?" Jennifer repeated; her fury only very thinly veiled by the calmness of her voice. "When _exactly_ did I go from being the agent-in-charge of this operation to a lap dog you get to order around?"

"When I put that ring on your finger and you agreed to marry me!" he bellowed.

Her eyes went wide. The room fell eerily silent as the lovers seemingly engaged in a standoff, neither ready to back down. After several agonizing moments of utter silence, Jennifer looked down at her left hand. Steve knew immediately what she intended to do. His heart leapt into his throat. "No, Jenn…" he said desperately.

He closed his eyes briefly and tried to swallow the lump in his throat as his heart raced uncontrollably. "Jenn, that is not…" She slid the band over the knuckle and looked directly at him before dropping the ring on the coffee table. "Jennifer, please!" he begged.

"Problem solved," she answered softly before storming out of the living room.

TBC….


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N – To "Guest"- in response to the review you left on my story, before criticizing someone as being a "terrible writer", please learn the difference between your and you're. The insult simply doesn't carry much punch when you use the wrong part of speech. Just sayin'.

* * *

All eyes focused on the shiny metal still spinning against the wood of the coffee table. Steve was too stunned to move, speak or even breathe. Just as little black and white dots began accumulating at the periphery of his vision, Danny spoke. "You…are _not_ a stupid man. But seriously, that was just about the most idiotic thing that has ever come out of your mouth!"

Steve could only stare at his partner, still bewildered by what had just taken place. "What are you waiting for?" Danny bellowed; motioning to the lanai door Jennifer had just escaped through. "Go after her!"

Steve somehow launched himself into action, swiping the ring off the coffee table and sprinting to the door Jennifer had nearly ripped from its hinges in her haste to escape. He found her standing at the edge of the water and decided to approach both carefully and quietly. "Nine years, four months, twenty one days," she said softly. She spun to face him and what shocked Steve the most was the _lack_ of tears in her eyes. "That's how long I protected Shelburne – _without_ the assistance of Lt. Commander Steven John McGarrett. She is _alive_, because for nine years, four months and twenty one days _I_ kept her alive," she continued, her voice raising nearly an octave with each word.

Steve reached a hand out toward her. "Jenn…"

"Don't," she said, taking a step back and offering him a resigned shake of her head. "You don't get to undermine me in front of my boss, my father, your mother and your _girlfriend_, for God's sake, and then come out here and think…"

"I made a mistake," he answered desperately. "And Catherine is _not _my girlfriend. _You_ are the only woman I want in my heart, in my bed, in my life…"

"My _sworn _duty to my country is to protect Shelburne at all costs and with my life if necessary. I took an oath. I not only _survived_ training very similar to yours, I _excelled_ at it…"

"Jenn, please…" he tried again.

"STOP INTERRUPTING ME!" she roared. He held up his hands in surrender. "There are more letters of commendation in my file than you have in yours. Did you know that?"

Steve shook his head and fought the sensation of the world spinning out of control beneath his feet. "I am a good agent, Commander. _A damn good agent_. And taking everything that we _are_ out of the equation, you'd be fucking stupid to not have me out there with you when you take on Wo Fat."

She took the cell phone she'd grabbed from the coffee table during her exit and tossed it in the sand near his feet. "But, none of that matters now. Congratulations, Steve, you won. Your little outburst in there has my boss thinking I'm emotionally compromised.

"Which I guess I am," she continued with a bitter laugh. "Because, stupid me, I thought we were partners. Not just in this, but in everything. I was quite stellarly proven wrong."

His mind raced as he racked his brain for the one word – the one _thing_ he could say to fix what was broken between them. She mistook his silence for confirmation of her accusations and scoffed at him before side-stepping him and starting back toward the house.

"I can't lose…you," he finally said – so quietly she wasn't 100% sure she'd actually heard him speak.

"What?"

He turned to face her. The light from the house shone brightly through the lanai doors casting a warm glow around Jennifer's form. She looked like an angel, and his resolve was set. He would confess to her something he'd never confessed to anyone, save a Navy-ordered psychiatrist. "I can't lose you," he repeated forcefully. "Not again. I almost didn't…" he ran his hands over his face and cleared his throat before continuing. "After the letter, I…SEALs are trained, you know, _conditioned_ to be gung-ho with the idea of giving our life in service of our country. After the letter, I went…off the rails, I guess. Volunteered for every mission – the more dangerous, the better. I gave every married or engaged guy on my team the opportunity to stand down because I didn't have anyone at home, waiting for me."

His heart broke at the single tear winding down her cheek. He longed to reach out and brush it away for her, but wasn't sure the action would be welcomed. "When my mother died, I…I…moved on. Sounds horrible to say, but I did. But losing you..." he shook his head and closed his eyes. "I almost didn't survive it the first time. I'm not strong enough to do it again. The odds of me losing Mary are damn high. So hate me if you have to, Jenn. Keep doing your job, protecting Shelburne. I'm just begging you - do it at a secure location, because I'm telling you right now, I _cannot_ bury you."

Jennifer swiped at her tears with her fingers before shaking her head at him. "But it's okay for me to have to bury you?" she asked incredulously as he cautiously stepped closer to her. "I hate to ruin your logic, Commander, but I am _not_ okay with that! And you can hate _me_ all you want, but hell will freeze over before I let you face that madman without me!"

He cradled her face in his hands and brought his forehead down to rest on hers. "I love you, Jennifer," he nearly wept. "God, I love you so much."

"You are the single most infuriating, arrogant, over-protective Neanderthal ass…" she ranted, bringing her hands up to cover his. He laughed and held her tighter. "But you love me anyway," he interjected with a cocky grin.

"I'm not letting you go without me, Steve," she said, moving her face away from his to look him directly in the eye. "THAT is not up for debate."

"Is there _anything_ I can do or say that will change your mind?" he said desperately.

She shook her head again before answering simply, "No."

"I can't lose you," he repeated.

Jennifer stood on her tip-toes and kissed him gently. "Then don't. Have my back, just like I'm going to have yours."

He nodded quickly in reply before pulling her ring out of his pocket. "You left something in there," he teased, holding it between this thumb and forefinger at her. She took the ring from his fingers and gently wrenched his hand open. She placed the ring in his palm and folded his fingers over it. His face blanched, but she smiled softly at him. "As beautiful as it is, out there - it's going to be a beacon, begging some goon to shoot me," she explained. "Go back in the house and put it somewhere safe. You can put it back where it belongs later."

Steve tipped his head down to kiss her again before Danny threw the doors to the lanai open. "Oh good, John and Jane made up. More importantly, get your asses in here, we got a problem".

TBC…


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N – thank you all so much for your continued support of this story! I sincerely appreciate those who have taken the time to review and those who have marked the story as favorites.

Couple of quick things to remember – Chin never busted Frank Delano out of prison – so he never captured Kono or Malia, therefore, in my little universe, Dr. Waincroft is alive and well. It may not be good for the "drama", but I prefer my Chin happy! Also, Doris/Nancy was an analyst – not a full-blown spy like McMom is portrayed as being on the show. Plus, I _refuse_ to go where I think the writers are – that Steve and Wo Fat are half-brothers.

* * *

Danny led the way for the couple as they stepped back into the house and into the living room. "Okay, Catherine, I've got Steve and Jennifer. Tell them what you just told me."

"The pauses were bothering me," Catherine explained, her fingers still furiously typing on her keyboard. "There is no reason with today's cell phone technology that there should have been _any_ pauses between the questions the Vice President asked and Wo Fat's responses, but there were."

"The GPS was hacked?" Jennifer asked warily.

"Yeah," the Lieutenant answered. "The signal _was_ moving, but its origin wasn't Maui. I'm still running code to break the hack, but the call originated from Oahu."

Steve ran a hand over his face. "This goes down tonight, then."

Jennifer nodded affirmatively. "Keep running that code, Cath," Steve said quickly before turning to the others in the room. "Chin, Kono, get everything we have out of the vehicles – vests, weapons, communication, Danny, clean out the gun safe."

"Yep," was the collective reply as the officers sprinted from the living room to their respective tasks.

Steve turned to Lori, eyeing her cautiously. "I have no idea who or what Wo Fat is coming after us with. Is there any info you can give me that will help us?"

Lori shook her head sadly. "I met with Will Ling only once and all of my contact with Wo Fat was over the phone." She leapt from the couch and grabbed Steve's elbow. "Please, let me help, Steve. Let me help you fix this," she begged.

"Are you serious?" Steve nearly yelled. "I can't trust you after what you did to us!"

Jennifer touched his shoulder and nodded her head toward the kitchen. Once they were out of Lori's earshot, she spoke. "Steve, we are going to need everybody…"

He scoffed and shook his head. "I don't trust her any more than you do, but I honestly don't know if we have another option," she explained. "Pair her with you, or with me, so we can keep an eye on her."

"No, that would be a distraction to keeping yourself safe," he argued.

"Better a distraction than worrying about her shooting us in the back," Jennifer countered. "You don't have to like it, but we don't know what we're going to be up against."

"She stays with me," Steve reluctantly agreed. As they stepped back into the living room, he said, "Chin, outfit Lori with two weapons, but she doesn't get her hands on them until I say."

The Lieutenant's eyes darted between his boss and his former teammate before landing on Jennifer's. She nodded quickly at him. "You got it," he finally answered.

"You are prepared for the end of the frikkin' world, babe!" Danny exclaimed as he pushed a small wheelbarrow filled with weapons and ammunition into the living room. "I'm pretty sure the only thing that's missing is a nuclear weapon!"

"In my closet upstairs with my shoes," Steve deadpanned.

Danny shook his head. "There is something seriously the matter with you."

"How's the hack comin', Cath?" Steve asked.

"Most recent ping was near the intersection of Kahili Street and the Lunalilo Freeway," she said quickly.

"Less than 15 minutes out," Steve mentally calculated.

"ETA on the satellite is 90 seconds," she continued. "Kono and I are almost finished patching me into the comm so you can hear me."

"Okay, everybody, gear up," Jennifer announced. Joe clapped his hands together and grabbed two Kevlar vests from the pile Chin and Kono had brought into the house. He helped Nancy into one before strapping the other onto his chest.

Jennifer tugged into a vest before pulling her hair back and putting it up into a messy ponytail. "As much as we didn't want this, it looks like it goes down here," she began.

"Oh good," Danny said sarcastically, "because the first time we had to re-dry-wall this entire house was so much fun, I've been wanting to do it again."

Jennifer turned to Steve and cocked an eyebrow at him. "General Pak?" she questioned.

"General Pak," Steve confirmed with a nod.

She shook her head lightly before turning back to the others in the room. "We're going to operate under the idea that, because of the time, Wo Fat is expecting at least most of us to still be asleep with one or two standing guard."

"Lori and I will be the two on guard downstairs," Steve added. "Jennifer upstairs with Danny. Kono, Chin, sharpshooters – one on the roof, one on the garage."

"Dad, you're with Mom," Jennifer continued. "There's a tiny back room at the back of Jack's garage…"

"I know it well," the older man stated with a wave of his hand. He chose two weapons from the stash, a semi-automatic rifle and pistol and handed Nancy several sets of extra ammunition. "I want a gun," she stated softly. The activity in the room suddenly came to a screeching halt.

"What?" Joe asked incredulously, his mouth slightly agape.

"I want a gun," Nancy repeated. "Don't look at me like that, Joe. You taught me how to use a gun and I want one." She turned to Jennifer for support, who threw up both hands and turned away to shove more clips into the back pockets of her jeans.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, you're giving Lori a gun, why can't I have one?" Nancy demanded.

Steve plucked a pistol from the stash and handed it to his mother. Before letting go, he turned to Joe. "Is she any good a shot?" he asked tentatively.

"Decent at best," Joe replied, earning a glare from Nancy.

Steve sighed and released his grip on the gun. "Do not fire this weapon unless Joe tells you to."

"Yes, Commander," Nancy sighed sarcastically.

"Joe, will you go back over the basics with her once you're in position?" Steve asked.

"Yep, now let's go," the older man answered, reaching around Nancy's side to begin ushering her out to the garage and the hidden back room.

"Everybody check comm," Jennifer ordered, shoving a pistol in the back of her jeans. Steve reached down and muted the phone that linked them to Catherine.

"Cath?" he asked through the device.

"Right here," she answered. "Satellite is up, 2 black SUVs traveling East bound, just transitioned from I-1 to Hwy 72."

"Five minutes at best," Jennifer stated.

"Okay, Chin, Kono, get into position," Steve ordered. "Kill any burning lights as you head out. Lori, the remote for the TV on the table - if the house it too quiet, they'll suspect something."

He grabbed Jennifer's arm as she stepped near him. He pulled his communication piece out of his ear and closed his fist around it, indicating for her to do the same – he didn't want Catherine to have to hear what he was about to say to Jennifer. He'd caused her more than enough pain by overhearing their earlier fight where he'd all but announced their engagement. He pulled Jennifer close to him and leaned his head down against her forehead. "Be safe," he whispered.

"You too," she answered with a soft smile. She kissed him quickly and whispered "I love you," in his ear. He repeated it to her and kissed her again before releasing his grip on her arm.

He watched as she and Danny took the stairs two a time, turning off the light once they reached the top. He slid the earpiece back in and took a deep breath.

TBC…


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

Steve crouched behind the wall to the kitchen, keeping an eye on Lori as she stood just to the side of the television, in a blind spot to anyone coming through the front door. He listened to Catherine's careful descriptions of what was going on outside.

"Vehicles parked just outside the drive on the street," she said. "I count eight Unsubs."

"Any of 'em our man?" Jennifer asked from upstairs.

"I don't know," Catherine answered. "Two are headed into the neighbor's backyard. I'd be willing to bet they are going for the garage. Three coming to the front door and two more are about to hop the fence into the backyard."

"That's only seven," Danny replied. "Where's eight?"

"Guarding the SUV," she stated.

"So Wo Fat is either in the SUV letting these goons do his dirty work," Steve surmised.

"Or Mary's in the SUV," Jennifer concluded.

The mere hope that his little sister was close enough to see their home sent a rush of adrenaline down his spine. The urge to break position and head straight for the SUV was overwhelming.

"Don't…even…_think_…about it," Jennifer whispered over the comm.

Danny snorted. "It's like she _knows _you."

The door knob turned and Steve aimed his weapon at the front door. "Steve, they're going for an all-out attack," the terror in Catherine's voice was palatable as she began to rattle off coordinates. "Three at the front door, one at the back and I've lost the other."

"Coming in the second floor through the master," Jennifer announced quickly. "Danny, take this guy, I'm going down."

"No," Steve whispered forcefully. "Double team the guy upstairs, we need at least one of them alive."

The knob on the front door slowly turned. He held his hand up high enough so Lori could see his fingers and began counting down 3…2…1… He opened fire on the man coming through the back as Lori fired at the men coming through the front, killing one instantly with a clean shot to the temple. The other two fired back and Lori took two shots to the chest, which knocked her back against the wall. As she slumped down from the impact, Steve fired again twice, shooting the gun out the hand of one and fatally injuring the other with a slug to the chest. He moved quickly, kicking the guns as far away from the two men as possible.

"We're secure up here," Jennifer announced. "Coming down." Steve could hear the muffled shots emanating from Kono and Chin's sniper rifles from their perches on top of the house and the garage. "Clear," they both said several long moments later.

"Dead," Jennifer announced, checking the pulse of the man sprawled on the lanai.

"Check Lori," Steve ordered, deliberately stepping on his captive's mangled, bloodied hand. "Where's the girl?"

"What girl?" the man spat out.

Steve stepped harder and the man wailed in agony. "Blonde, 5 foot 5, answers to the name Mary, ring any bells now?"

"Oh yeah, the little blonde bitch we've been entertaining. She's very…co-operative." The tone of the man's voice made Steve's blood run cold. "Where is she?" Steve demanded.

"Probably off having fun with one of my associates," he replied, sucking in deep breaths while tears pooled in his eyes from the pain. Steve kicked him in the head with his steel-toed boot, rendering the man unconscious.

Danny stomped down the stairs with his own prisoner. He threw the man onto the couch before turning to examine what was left of the unconscious man's hand. "That looks like it's gonna hurt…a lot…"

"We're going after number eight and the SUV," Steve announced. "You good?"

"Peachy," Danny surmised after a cursory look around the living room and kitchen.

Jennifer had already taken up position at the front door after checking Lori. Steve crept up beside her. "Ready?" he asked. She nodded her reply.

Steve stepped carefully out onto the porch with his rifle extended, sweeping back and forth across the expanse before motioning for Jennifer to join him. She strode down the driveway, checking under the vehicles for threats. Once she was in position, he crept closer to the bushes separating his property from the street. "Approaching on your left from behind, Steve," he heard Chin's voice and glanced back quickly to verify the other man's position. With Chin on his left and Jennifer covering the right, Steve quickly rounded the bushes to get his first clear view of the SUVs.

He scampered around the hood of the first, approaching the second where the guard stood currently facing the bushes, slowly completing a turn to the right. He ducked down so as not to be seen through the darkened windows of the second SUV. With his fingers on the handle, he began to count, "three, two, one…"

He lifted the handle and opened the door as Chin and Jennifer announced themselves to the remaining guard shouting "Police!" As they fired at the guard, Steve stood quickly, gun trained on any occupants of the vehicle and his eyes focused on their latest heartbreak – Wo Fat with a revolver to Mary's temple, tape covering his sister's mouth, her hands bound, her face streaked with tears and blood thanks to an uncleaned gash cutting diagonally down her forehead. She whimpered as her eyes landed on his and began thrashing about – telling him the only way she could to leave.

"Drop the rifle, Commander," Wo Fat said icily.

"Let my sister go," Steve countered.

Wo Fat grinned and pulled the trigger of the revolver in his hand. Mary shut her eyes tight against the shot. Steve screamed and Mary slumped down in the seat.

"Steve!" Jennifer's voice demanded over the comm. "Steve!"

Wo Fat laughed before hauling an uninjured Mary back up. "Six shot revolver, Commander. She was lucky this time. Will that luck hold out if I pull the trigger again?"

Steve's heart beat uncontrollably in his chest and he fought the overwhelming urge to retch on the street beneath his feet. Instead, he held his hands up. "Stay back," his voice cracked with relief.

"Drop the rifle," Wo Fat said again. Steve placed it on the pavement and kicked it away. "Now the pistol," the mad man continued.

"Guys, out front now," came Jennifer's thin and pained voice through the comm as she watched Steve take his pistol from the holster and set it on the ground.

"What do you want?" Steve asked carefully.

"The same thing I have always wanted Commander," the older man answered. "Shelburne. Step back…please."

Steve did as he was told and watched helplessly as Wo Fat tightened his grip on Mary before shoving her out of the SUV. His legs landed on either side of her. Steve instinctively reached down to help her up but Wo Fat intervened, dragging her from his reach. "Touch her and she dies, Commander. These are not difficult instructions," Wo Fat spat out. He slipped one hand under her arm and pulled her back up. "Walk," he instructed with a nod to the courtyard.

Steve shut his eyes quickly and took a deep breath. "I'm coming around the bushes. Nobody fires," he announced.

"Back them up to the porch, Commander."

Steve's eyes looked heavenward for a moment as if some alignment of the stars or miraculous gift from God would be there telling him what to do. "You heard him, everybody on the porch."

As the trio rounded the bushes, he saw Jennifer and Chin slowly backing themselves up, keeping their weapons trained on Wo Fat. Danny was already on the porch waiting.

"It's just you against all of us," Steve said deliberately. "Not good odds."

"Steve!" Catherine's voice boomed through the comm. "Everybody away from the house NOW!" she screamed.

The man laughed again. "_Insurance_, Commander."

He heard the shrill hiss of the rocket-launched missile before he actually saw it – zeroed in on his home – Jennifer, Danny and Chin on the porch – Kono and Lori inside with the men they'd captured – his mother and Joe hidden in the garage.

Wo Fat's voice taunted him from behind "Five...four...three…"

TBC…


	35. Chapter 35

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N - "I'm evil and I know it..."

* * *

Wo Fat's voice taunted him in one ear as those of his teammates and the woman he loved collided in the other. He stood, frozen, as the missile inched closer and closer to his home. The home he'd grown up in. The home he'd recently begun to picture raising a family in with Jennifer.

"_Five_..."

"Kono, go!" Lori pleaded.

"I'm _not_ leaving you!" Kono countered defiantly.

"_Four_..."

"Get out house NOW!" Catherine shrieked. Steve launched himself a step forward before Wo Fat's voice stopped him in his tracks. "They're already dead, McGarrett. Move and your sister joins them."

"Kono! Get out of there!" Steve thundered.

"Lori's can't move, I need _help_!"

He watched helplessly as Danny, Chin and Jennifer looked at each other before running back into the house.

"We're coming, Kono!' Chin bellowed.

"Get her up!"

"Jam the signal, Catherine!" Steve desperately ordered.

"There's nothing _to_ jam, Steve!" she cried.

"_Three_..."

"Jenny!"

"Take cover, Dad, we're carrying Lori out."

"_Two_..."

Steve sank to his knees as the reality of the unfolding horror weighed on his shoulders. He was helpless to save them, helpless to save _her_. He tuned out Mary's agonized sobs behind him and focused on the breathless voices in his ear. "Please, God," he whispered.

"Go, go, go!"

"_One_..."

They cleared the front door as the missile tore into the house, igniting a fireball that began at the lanai, backlighting their figures and making it impossible for Steve to determine their positions as the explosion launched five bodies into the air. The silence from the destroyed communication port was deafening. He didn't even realize he'd ripped the now useless equipment from his ear until it fell out of his hand onto the ground.

The air was thick with smoke, fire and ash - too dense for Steve to make out who might be moving and who might be dead. A female figure raised up just slightly on her palms before collapsing back onto the ground. Fury burned through his veins as he jumped to his feet and spun to face Wo Fat, finding a fainted Mary Ann crumpled at his feet. "You son of a bitch!" Steve thundered, taking a swing at his nemesis, who deftly blocked the punch and spun to kick Steve in the ribs. Steve threw another fist, this time knocking the pistol out of Wo Fat's hands. He quickly recovered and landed a blow to Steve's kidneys that left the Commander staggering.

He rushed at Wo Fat again, slamming his head into the man's gut, knocking him onto the ground. Steve rolled over him, landing with a thud. Wo Fat was on him instantly, leveling a punch to Steve's jaw. He retaliated with a knee to Wo Fat's groin and sprang to his feet. He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and spared a glance to the side to find his mother with her arm around Joe's waist, shrapnel clearly evident his bleeding head, slipping in and out of consciousness. Nancy wobbled under his added weight as they rounded the corner of the bushes. "Mary!" she wailed.

"Stay back," Steve yelled as Wo Fat's leg knocked his feet out from under him. He collided with the ground again, the wind knocked out of his lungs. Wo Fat scrambled for the gun and managed a shot that whizzed past Nancy just before Steve threw him onto the ground again. "Get out of here!" he ordered.

Nancy carefully eased Joe to the ground before rushing toward the struggling men. She fell to her knees in front of Mary, quickly easing the tape from her mouth with one hand while gently patting her daughter's cheek with the other. "Mary, sweetheart, please wake up!" she cried.

Sirens wailed in the distance, slowly but steadily competing in volume with the roar of the fire behind them. Mary stirred and Nancy breathed out a sigh of relief. "Get her out of here, Mom!" Nancy hauled Mary up under her arms and dragged her back toward the main road.

Wo Fat swung his legs around Steve's neck and began to squeeze the Commander's trachea. He angled his torso up and aimed the pistol at Steve's forehead. He cocked the hammer and sneered at Steve before a shot rang out.

As Wo Fat's lifeless body suddenly collapsed on top of him, blood oozing from the hole in the center of his forehead onto Steve's legs, his own head flew back against the ground to search for the origin of the fatal shot. What he saw turned his blood to ice – a broken, bloodied Jennifer losing her grip on the charred, blood moistened ground beneath her, the 9 mm still in her hands.

He pushed Wo Fat's body off him and scrambled on his hands and knees over to where Jennifer lay on her stomach, her breathing pained and shallow. It was then that he heard the sounds of life emanating from his team as they slowly began to regain consciousness - Kono's moans, Chin's curses, Danny's groans – all music to his battered ears.

He cradled Jennifer's head in his hands and pressed his hand lightly to her back. "Don't try to get up, baby, please," he begged. "The paramedics are almost here."

"Did I get him?" she asked weakly, coughing with the effort.

Tears stung at his eyes as he watched the light fading from hers. "Yes, baby, you got him. Don't try to talk." He looked up to find several teams of paramedics rushing toward them. "Over here!" he yelled, waving a hand at them.

"Commander McGarrett, I need you to step away," a female paramedic whose name Steve could never remember quickly ushered him to the side as she knelt beside Jennifer.

"Got a D.O.A. here, Commander," another paramedic announced solemnly. Steve looked up to find the woman knelt at Lori's side. He cursed and shook his head before he turned his attention to his partner. "How you doin' there, Danno?" he questioned, earning another groan from the detective.

"Do you have any idea how much I hate you right now?" Danny slowly rolled onto his side and then on to his back despite Steve's protests. "That damn woman of yours threw _herself_ on top of _me_!" Danny grumbled. "What is it with you people?"

"We protect the ones we love, Daniel, you should know that by now," Steve chastised, turning his attention back to the paramedics working on Jennifer.

"As nice as that sounds, I'm still gonna hate you for a little while," Danny surmised.

"Kai, how's Chin?" Steve shouted over his shoulder.

"Compound fracture of the tibia, and the blast refractured his ribs, among other non life-threatening injuries" the male medic answered quickly.

"Abdominal distention," Steve heard Jennifer's paramedic say as he watched the slow, deliberate, rise and fall of her chest. "She's bleeding internally."

He swallowed the fear bubbling up in his chest and called out again as he crawled back to Jennifer. "Kono?"

She moaned loudly, throwing her hands over her eyes before answering, "God, somebody please turn off the sirens."

"At _best_ a concussion," the paramedic responded to Steve's unasked question while placing an oxygen mask over Kono's nose and mouth, which she immediately pulled off.

"Lori?" Kono asked quietly. Steve shook his head and her dark eyes filled with tears. "Lie back," he heard the paramedic gently order. She was too crushed to argue.

"Pulse is weak and thready," the female paramedic suddenly said. Steve looked down to find his fiancée's eyes closed. He rested his forehead down on hers and repeated her earlier words to him - "Don't even _think_ about it. Fight, baby," he pleaded.

"Jenny?" he heard Joe's voice ask weakly from the end of the driveway. "They're working on her, Joe," Steve yelled loud enough for him to hear. Nancy dropped down to his side and ran a trembling hand through Jennifer's hair. "Musume," she whispered as tears streamed down her cheeks.

The second medic shoved a needle into Jennifer's side and pulled the plunger out slowly, filling the large vial with dark red blood. "Blood in the chest cavity," he stated calmly. "We need to move now."

Steve dug in his pocket as they lifted Jennifer's backboard onto the stretcher. He ran after them to the ambulance with Nancy on his heels. "Who's riding?" the woman asked. Steve looked back at his team and then at his mother. She patted his cheek softly. "Go."

"Wait!" he yelled before jumping in and sliding onto the bench on Jennifer's left. He took her hand in both of his and pressed a kiss onto her bloodied fingers before sliding her engagement ring on.

"Fight, Jenn," he whispered into her ear. "Please…fight."

TBC…


	36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

Happy Halloween Everybody!

* * *

The metal doors leading from the ambulance bay to the trauma center at Queen's Medical Center burst open as the stretcher bearing Jennifer pressed ahead, doctors and nurses on either side, the paramedics at the head, detailing her injuries and care as Steve ran helplessly alongside.

"Thirty-four year old female, significant blast trauma, no signs of consciousness, bleeding in the chest cavity on scene, cardiac arrest during transport, last BP was 68/50," the female stated as she held the bag of IV fluid.

"Any chance she could be pregnant?" the doctor asked, looking back at Steve as they transferred Jennifer's seemingly lifeless body from the stretcher to a hospital bed.

The simple, utterly _routine_ question stopped the Commander in his tracks and had him sputtering an incomprehensible response. The doctor rolled his eyes and turned back to the paramedic. "Janie, she's got a ring on, where's the fiancé?"

Janie nodded in Steve's direction. "He _is_ the fiancé."

The female nurses turned to regard Steve with thinly veiled disdain. "It's complicated!" he replied defensively. "We _just_ got back together!"

The doctor nodded curtly. "I'm going to take that as a yes. Add an hCG to the CBC, BMP, type and cross and arterial blood gas."

"Yes, Doctor," one of the nurses answered, quickly typing the info into a tablet computer as the others continued attaching various pieces of equipment and tubing to Jennifer's pale skin.

"Escort him to the waiting area, please," the doctor instructed, motioning toward the door for Steve to leave.

"Okay," Steve barely whispered. "Can I just…" he asked, his eyes pleading for someone in the room to understand how desperately he needed to touch her again, to kiss her, to _beg_ her not to leave him.

"Sure," the youngest of the female nurses answered, taking a step back from the zone around Jennifer's head, allowing Steve to step in. He thanked her profusely before bending down and running his hand over Jennifer's clammy forehead. He brushed his lips against the cool flesh several times before whispering in her ear, "Don't leave me, Jenn. This isn't how our story ends. Fight, baby. Fight."

The nurse gently tugged at his arm. "You really need to wait outside now. I'll come get you as soon as we know anything."

Steve bit at his bottom lip to fight back the tears stinging his eyes. He'd barely stepped past the curtain to cross the threshold of the sliding glass door when a stretcher bearing his sister whizzed past. "That's my sister," he explained quickly before taking off after Mary and his mother.

"I'm FINE!" Mary screeched from the stretcher, ignoring the nurses' instructions to move over to the hospital bed. "I passed out, I woke up, I'm _fine_."

"She's not fine," Steve argued. Mary's eyes went wide upon realizing he was there and she fell back against the bed with a defeated groan. "She was held prisoner by a madman for _days_. Run every freaking test you can think of on her," he continued. "And you…are going to shut it and do whatever they tell you to do."

"How's Mary?" Steve suddenly heard behind him. He whipped around to find Joe being wheeled past. His heart lurched at the sudden realization that almost everyone he cared about, everyone he loved, was about to be in the same trauma unit. He left his mother at Mary's side while the nurse started an IV and headed after Joe. He stepped in to the glassed off area and watched as a team carefully transferred the older man from a stretcher to the bed, listening as his injuries were being rattled off. "Sixty year old male, broken ribs on the right, collapsed lung, possible break in the femur, compound fracture of the ulna – all on the right. BP 140 over 110."

"Good thing you're a lefty, huh, Joe?" Steve teased lightly.

Joe reached out with his left hand to Steve who immediately stepped over and took his future father-in-law's hand in his own. "How's my girl?" Joe asked weakly. When Steve looked away briefly, Joe squeezed his hand. "Don't sugar-coat it, son. I can handle the truth."

Steve pressed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose. "I don't think I can handle _giving_ it to you."

Joe nodded knowingly and rested his head back on the bed, the tears he was trying to fight evident in his green eyes. Steve swallowed hard and looked out into the hallway in time to see Chin and Kono being wheeled past Joe's room with Malia hot on their heels. He knew he should check on his teammates, but Joe still held tight to his hand. His mother was with Mary, Malia with Chin and Kono – right now, he needed to be with Joe…and Joe needed him. He stayed until a nurse slowly pushed a light narcotic into Joe's IV before taking him to Radiology.

It took his hand three tries to actually make contact with the large silver metal square that would open the doors into the waiting area. When they finally opened, he found Danny on the other side with a cup of steaming coffee in his hand. "Hey," his partner said by way of a greeting, offering Steve the cup.

"Hey," Steve replied, accepting it before lowering himself carefully into a hard plastic chair as the aches and pains acquired during his battle with Wo Fat began to weigh heavily on his body.

"Any word?" Danny asked carefully.

Steve shook his head. "Not on Jenn, there was so much equipment in there – no room for me. Mary's, uh…dehydrated. She has a concussion and she's refusing a rape kit. Joe's in Radiology, but they think pretty much everything on the right is broken. Kono's getting a CAT scan and Chin's being prepped for surgery. Malia's in there – she said she'd come get me as soon as she knew something."

"Okay, good," Danny said with a nod. He sat watching his best friend, his partner for what seemed like hours before Steve finally spoke again. "I can't lose her, Danny," he said so faintly Danny almost missed the declaration.

He shut his eyes tight and rested his hand on Steve's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "I know, babe, I know."

TBC…


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

* * *

Steve woke to Jennifer's fingers twitching beneath his hand as it held hers. His mind was instantly alert as she began to groan softly and he pressed the call button for the nurse. As the petite blonde nurse named Beth arrived in the doorway, Jennifer's green eyes slowly began to open. Beth quickly crossed the room and began to closely monitor Jennifer's breathing.

"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty," Steve whispered with a grin, gently stroking her forehead.

Jennifer licked at her dry, chapped lips and tried to swallow. The nurse lifted a small cup of water to her mouth. "Who's dead?" she finally asked.

"Wo Fat," Steve answered honestly. "Both of the guys we captured. Lori."

"Mom and Dad?" she questioned.

"Fine," he answered with a wave of his hand. "You took the brunt of the explosion - broke four ribs in the blast. There was a pulmonary laceration that led to an air embolism. That caused a cardiac arrest in the bus on the way here. Your spleen ruptured and they removed it, so there's a little less of you to love…" he teased, earning a glare from Jennifer.

"You're an ass," she shot back weakly, causing Beth to laugh. "How long was I out?"

Steve glanced at his watch. "Three days, nine hours, forty-two minutes and eighteen seconds."

"You missed me."

He lifted himself from the chair beside her bed and gazed directly into her eyes before pressing his lips softly to hers. "You have no idea." He settled back into the chair, happy with the content smile overtaking Jennifer's features.

"How's your pain?" Beth asked.

She grimaced as she attempted to shift slightly on the bed. "Owwww...'

Beth smiled and patted Jennifer's shoulder. "I'm going to go out to the waiting room and tell your parents that you're awake. They can visit for a few minutes, but after that, you need to rest. And I'm going to knock you out to ensure you do just that."

"She's a taskmaster," Steve teased.

"Well, someone has to keep you in your place, Commander," the nurse countered with a grin. She turned to head out the door calling "No funny business" over her shoulder.

"Your, uh...boss is here, too," Steve said quietly, running his thumb over Jennifer's hand. "Something about a resignation email he got from you."

Jennifer groaned and closed her eyes. "I was going to tell.." she started to croak out. Steve pressed a finger against her lips. "We'll talk about it later, sweetheart. You should know he's hell bent to change your mind."

"He _won't_," she countered defiantly as their parents rounded the corner. Nancy pushed Joe's wheelchair to Jennifer's beside and turned the chair so that he could reach his daughter with his left arm and hand. She reached passed him to press kisses against Jennifer's forehead."Hello, my darling," she said with tears clouding her blue eyes.

"How ya feelin' kiddo?" Joe asked, the emotion in his voice belying the lightness of the question.

"Like I got hit by an exploding house," she answered, eliciting a laugh from all of them.

'Because that's exactly what happened!" Danny exclaimed from the doorway. The four turned to find him with a large bouquet of pink flowers in his arms. "And you and I are gonna fight about you throwing yourself on top of me!"

Beth suddenly appeared behind Danny and grabbed the side of his ear. "Who let you in?" she demanded.

"Oh good, Nurse Cratchett is here," he shot back sarcastically before handing her the bouquet of flowers. "I brought these for you."

"Those aren't for me?" Jennifer asked weakly.

Danny scoffed loudly. "Please. You like me. She doesn't."

Jennifer laughed softly and Steve could tell the small amount of conversation and time awake had exhausted her. "Hey, Beth, I think we're ready for those pain meds now."

"No, no, no," Jennifer argued, her eyes suddenly wide and pleading. "We're not!"

Steve stood from the chair and leaned over her, running a hand through her auburn hair. "You need to rest, Jenn. Beth will come get me when you wake up again."

"I've been 'resting' for three days, nine hours, forty-two minutes and eighteen seconds," she grumbled under her breath.

"Clearly nothing wrong with your memory," Joe laughed.

Beth reappeared after divesting herself of the bouquet, this time armed with a needle. She rounded the end of Jennifer's bed to the side where Steve had been standing and gently eased him aside to get access to Jennifer's IV. Her eyes began to blink slowly, finally drifting closed as the effects of the medicine took over. Steve kissed Jennifer's forehead before following his family out into the hallway.

"Hey, Beth, we're gonna go get some food. You want anything?" he asked.

"Turkey burger with the usual?" she replied with a grateful smile.

"You got it!" he answered with a nod. He slapped the wall-mounted button that opened the doors from the ICU into the main waiting area. "So, I called that architect," Danny began as they waited for an elevator. "And the crews were already at the house, clearing the debris, salvaging anything they can. That missile did a number on the house, though."

"If they can salvage _anything_, it will be a miracle," Nancy said sadly.

Steve gave his mother's shoulders a gentle squeeze. The elevator doors opened and he pushed Joe's wheelchair inside. "What did the architect say about the plans I sketched out?"

Danny stabbed the button for the first floor of the hospital that housed the cafeteria. "He said it was totally doable based on the survey he got from the assessor's office."

"Why wouldn't it be doable if you're just rebuilding the house the way it was?" Joe asked curiously.

Both Steve and Danny's eyes went wide as they realized that their mutual exhaustion had finally gotten the better of them. "Uh," Danny stuttered.

"Steven?" Nancy questioned.

Steve sighed and decided to let his parents in on his and Danny's "secret". "I'm not rebuilding the house _exactly_ the way it was."

It was Joe and Nancy's turn to have their eyes go wide with shock. "What do you mean, exactly?" Nancy demanded.

Steve grinned. "I mean there are going to be _two _houses on the property. One for me and Jenn and one for you and Joe."

"Your house will be smaller, though, just in case you were wondering," Danny added teasingly.

As the elevator doors opened, Nancy's eyes filled with tears. She reached for Steve and grasped him at the back of the neck, pulling his face down to hers, planting a wet kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, Steve."

"I love you, Mom," he answered, placing a matching kiss on her cheek.

TBC...


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer – still don't own Hawaii Five -0 - just toying with their lives for a while. And my lawyer and psychiatrist both agree that I still don't own Steve. Dammit.

A/N – Hard to believe it's time to wrap this one up. I never intended for it to take this long, but illness, writer's block, family life and the loss of my beloved grandmother certainly got in the way. I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. And if you're interested, I'm already working on a sequel.

* * *

The next six months passed in a frenzied blur of doctor's appointments, physical therapy, CIA debriefings, 5-0 cases and construction as Jennifer, Joe and Chin recovered from their injuries. Jennifer was released from the hospital three weeks after the explosion; which was, in Steve's opinion, too soon. After being told by his fiancée where he could shove his opinion, he brought her home to the modest rent house on the beach they would be sharing with their parents until the newly constructed homes were finished.

Ten days after the explosion, Mary bravely announced that she was checking herself into an inpatient mental treatment facility on the island of Kauai. She'd been suffering from unrelenting, debilitating night terrors of her abduction and was little more than skin and bones from exhaustion and starvation. At Jenn's insistence, Steve and his mother accompanied Mary to Kauai. When she returned home three months later, Steve almost didn't recognize his baby sister. He'd never seen Mary so overtly happy, joyous and full of life.

All of it - from the beginning of his nightmare when he discovered his mother was alive _and_was the infamous Shelburne, to the end of it with his home exploding behind him and Wo Fat's head exploding above him and nearly losing Jennifer...again...had led to this moment...

Kamekona was perched on a small stool on the flat apex of a rocky cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, his thick fingers plucking out "Here Comes the Bride" on a ukulele. Seagulls wailed above Steve and Danny's heads as the early evening sun warmed their backs.

Jennifer slowly approached them on her father's arm, even more beautiful than she'd appeared in the vision he'd had so long ago as Aiden had held a gun to her temple. The blue hibiscus Steve had insisted on was tucked behind her ear. Her dress was simple, a strapless, lightweight silk gown with a full skirt that billowed in the gentle breeze whipping up from the ocean. The only embellishment on her dress was a pearl and crystal brooch worn by Nancy when she married Steve's father pinned just at the narrow waistband.

The tears in Joe's eyes were evident as he kissed his daughter before placing her hand in Steve's. The Commander took a deep, shuddering breath as he drank in the beauty of the angel standing before him. "Breathe," she chastised with a giggled whisper.

As their family and friends merged into a tight circle around the couple, Chin began to speak. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here on this beautifulevening to join this man and this woman in marriage.

"Every ceremony text I read in prepping for today had the officiant giving lectures and advice on what marriage is; what marriage should be. But, what I realized is that everything those texts said, is exactly what Steve and Jennifer have proven quite...explosively..."

Chin had the decency to look slightly guilty for the pun, though everyone, including Steve and Jennifer, laughed heartily. "...that they already know what makes a great marriage work - and that's having each other's back. Today we're standing atop this cliff, representing the mountain they've already climbed, already conquered to get to this day."

Steve squeezed Jennifer's hand and grinned, realizing she'd already started crying. He reached into the pocket of his loose khaki pants and pulled out a handkerchief. He dabbed at her damp eyes for her, since she held a bouquet in her left and he had no intention of surrendering her right just yet.

"Turn to each other and Steve, you'll repeat after me." Jennifer handed her bouquet to Nancy before capturing both of Steve's hands in her own. "I, Steve take you, Jennifer, to _finally_be my lawfully wedded wife. I promise to love you, honor you, cherish and keep you, all the days of my life."

Jennifer took a moment to swipe at her eyes again before repeating her vows, "I, Jennifer take you, Steve, to finally be my lawfully wedded husband. I promise to love you, honor you, cherish and keep you, all the days of my life."

Chin turned to Danny and held out his hand expectantly. The detective dug into his pants pocket and pulled out the two rings before returning Jennifer's threatening glare that he better not try anything funny. "These rings represent the continuity of life, love, family, marriage. There is no beginning and there will be no end."

Chin handed Jennifer's diamond eternity band to Steve, who slid it gently home on her finger. Jennifer sucked in a breath. "With this ring," he said quietly, his voice husky with the emotion burning as unshed tears in his eyes, "I thee wed."

Jennifer accepted Steve's ring from Chin and placed it on his finger. As she slid it down the long digit, she locked eyes with him. "With this ring, I thee wed."

Jennifer began dancing around impatiently and both were grinning like idiots with anticipation of the final words of the ceremony. "Then by the power vested in me by the state of Hawaii and the Universal Church of Honolulu, I pronounce you are husband and wife." She launched herself into Steve's waiting arms and neither of them heard Chin conclude with "you may now kiss your bride." Steve's mouth descended upon hers and she opened herself completely to him, warm, inviting, intoxicating.

He kissed his new wife with every ounce of love, passion, need and desire he felt. This kiss was a new "first" - not the awkward bumping of noses and sloppy meeting of lips and tongues from their first kiss as teenagers. Nor was it like the second "first kiss" in the airport - a hungry, overpowering need that awoke a passion and love he thought long extinguished. This was their first kiss as husband and wife. Politically incorrect clichés aside...he belonged to her. And she belonged to him. A full ten years after he'd lost his future, he had everything he wanted, or so he thought.

Steve swooped Jennifer into his arms and announced "let's party!" to the waiting guests, who began scrambling to their vehicles. Steve refused to put Jennifer down as he raced to the truck. He opened the door and gently placed her on the seat before noticing a small beautifully wrapped present on the dash. "Where'd that come from?"

Jennifer grinned, but looked past him as her attention was captured elsewhere Steve followed her gaze and saw Joe close the passenger side door of his car after helping Nancy in. He glanced over at his daughter, smiled, waved, and gestured opening the gift with his hands. She glared back and motioned for them to leave and give the newlyweds some privacy.

"Jenn..." Steve drawled. "What's going on?"

Her maddening grin returned and she lifted the small box from the dash and handed it to him. "I have a present for you."

He eyed her suspiciously as he started ripping the silver paper from the box. He discarded it on the floorboard and lifted the top of the box. Inside was a long white tube with a gray screen. One digital word stared back at him, fulfilling the final "want" he'd been prepared to wait for - Pregnant.

The End


End file.
